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THE UNIVERSITY 
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ane 





THE OSWEGO MOVEMENT IN. 
AMERICAN EDUCATION 


BY 


NED HARLAND DEARBORN 


EVUGATI 
DEPARTMENT 


SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE 
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 


Contribution 16 edueation ,no. \¥3 


Published by 
Teachers College, Columbia Anibersitp 
New York City 


1925 
r 


Copyright, 1925, by TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 


TO 


those who have contributed to the fame of the 
Oswego State Normal and Training School 
and to those who are now striving and 
who in the future will strive to 
maintain its honorable 
position in American 


’ education 


660308 


Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2021 with funding from 
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 


https://archive.org/details/oswegomovementinOOdear 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


The author wishes to express his profound gratitude for the 
unusual opportunities he has enjoyed in preparing this dissertation. 
Many friends of the Oswego State Normal and Training School 
have provided sources of information which have been invaluable. 
Much help has been given in the interpretations of the Oswego 
Movement by those who know its work through intimate associa- 
tion with its founder and with its development since Dr. Sheldon’s 
regime. 

Special credit is due Dr. James G. Riggs, the present principal 
of the school, for his untiring efforts in assisting the writer in the 
location of source material and in his great interest in the perpetua- 
tion of the Oswego spirit. The present faculty members have given 
freely of their time and energy, notably those who knew Dr. Sheldon 
personally. Direct reference is made to each one of the group in 
the appendix of this volume. For further inspiration and guidance 
the author is greatly indebted to the interest and advice of Dr. 
William C. Bagley, Dr. Edward H. Reisner, and Dr. E. S. Evenden 
of Teachers College, Columbia University. The acknowledg- 
ments would be incomplete without special reference to the co- 
operative spirit of the author’s wife and son. 


N.H. D. 






a ra i ey 


4 Li Le 

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» rs reese ‘ 
*y iy Prey ee. « 








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5 " Ph A ‘ K 
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CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 
I. CAUSAL FACTORS IN THE ORIGIN OF THE OSWEGO STATE 
PEMMALCIAND 1 P RAINING SCHOOL. boul hoe en wae, I 


A. Edward Austin Sheldon’s First Work in Oswego . . ie 
1. The Ragged School 


B. The Movement for Free Schools in Oswego .. . . 3 
C. Organization of the Oswego Board of Education . . 3 


D. Mr. Sheldon’s Work as Ros of the Matas Board 
of Education .. . | A 


. Reorganization of the City Schools 
. The Arithmetic Schools 

The Evening Schools 

The Unclassified School 

. School Attendance 

Moral Training 

. Teachers’ Conferences 

. Pupil Examinations 


COON ANP WN A 


eeducational Needsiin Oswego ©.) 0.64.2 Fae a IT 


1. Primary Instruction 
2. Mr. Sheldon’s Trip to Toronto in 1859 
3. The Introduction of Object Teaching 
a. The New Course of Study for the Primary Schools 
. The Need of Well Prepared Teachers 
. The Training Class 
The Advent of Miss Margaret E. M. Jones 
. Herman Kriisi, Jr. 
. Growth of the Training Class 
. Pestalozzi and Edward Austin Sheldon 


Oo on Nn > 


II. A DESCRIPTION OF THE OSWEGO STATE NORMAL AND 
MAING OCHOOL . 1 S6I1—1886. 2. ew ee as : 18 ° 
Pees stirdent Personnel se. )ca coy) danas teh levee nae eeh dee 18 


1. The Students’ Attitude 

2. Geographical Distribution 
a. Outside of New York State 
b. Within New York State 
c. Residents of Oswego City 

. Age Data 

. Proportion of Men and Women 

. Total Number of Graduates 

. Students Not Graduated 

. Salaries of Graduates: a. Comparison ‘with’ General Existing 
Conditions of That Time 


NAM W 


Viii 


CHAPTER 


Contents 


PAGE 


B. Student Life at Oswego (Social and Professional) Gl ee 


I. 
2. 


a 


Living Conditions 

Student Organizations 

a. Literary Societies 

b. The Normal Christian Association 
Student Social Activities 


C. The Staff: of Instructors) 444)) 4) +h ee a5 


1. Academic and Professional Training 
2. Teaching Experience 

3. 

4. Distribution of Duties 


Age Data 


1D) The Practice, ocuuol wale ae =) tye Renae re 


BEY x 


. Origin and Purpose of the Training aie 

. The Course of Study for the Training Class 
Organization of the Practice School 

Relation of the Practice School to Other Work 


III. THe CHARACTERISTICS OF OBJECT TEACHING .. . 42 


A. Object Teaching in the Pe eats Home and Colona 
Infant Society’s Schools. . . ate cBN apt Bnet 


I. 
Ze 


4. 
5. 


The Origin of the “Society ”’ 

The Organization of the “‘Society”’ 
a. The Model Schools 

b. The Practising Schools 

c. The Training Schools 


. The Curriculum of the Training Taseeuion 


a. General Subjects of Instruction 

b. The Courses in Education 

c. Practice Work of Student-teachers 
Principles of Pestalozzi 
Pestalozzian Principles in the English Schools ° 


B. Object Teaching in Oswego *.. >>. 171) 


th 
Pas 


Be 


mn 


Organization of the Oswego Work 

Entrance Requirements at Oswego 

Program of Studies for the Student-teachers 
a. The Elementary English Course 

b. The Advanced English Course: 

c. The Classical Course 


. Principles of Object Teaching 
. The Oswego Psychology and Philosophy 


a. The Natural Development of the Child’s “Faculties” 
b. The Order of Development of the Studies 
c. The Importance of the Teacher 


. Critical Analysis of the Oswego “ Principles’’ 


Contents ix 


CHAPTER PAGE 
7. Considerations in the Practical Applications of the Principles 
of Object Teaching 
8. Outside Criticism of the Oswego Methods of Instruction with 
Comment : 
g. Analysis of a Typical Object Lesson 
10. Summary of the Advantages of Object Teaching 


PY wowEGO SE DUCATIONAL INFLUENCE). 00. 00 u60))) 904 
A. Growing Recognition of the Work’... ..... 94 

. Visitation by Outside Individuals and Committees 

. Newspaper Publicity 

. The New York State Teachers’ Association 

. The National Teachers’ Association 

. Opinions of Noted Educators, Contemporaries of Dr. Sheldon 


mae WW NO = 


B. The Extent.of the Educational Influence of Oswego. . 96’ 


1. Growth of Normal Schools (State and City) 

2. Distribution of Graduates Among Normal Schools 

3. Representation in Southern Schools 

4. Geographical Distribution of Graduates 
a. Teaching Positions Outside of New York State 
b. Teaching Positions Within New York State 

. Influence upon Private Schools 

. Indirect Influence through Distinguished Educators Who 
Visited Oswego 


Non 


C. The Practice School Influence REY la ie et he ONS 6 
I. Procedure in Other State Normal Schools 
2. Oswego’s Precedent in Practice School Work 
Prmeraweoa StL earring Attitude iy i. det dole di as von ot LOT 


1. Introduction of Kindergarten Work 
2. Introduction of Industrial Work 

3. The Herbartian Doctrine at Oswego 
4. Introduction of New Methods 


SEIIRG MESSING Tey id a To Ao a A OT 


TORI S EEN Wis be eines atk Nigh Ma MN eit ie aha LOO 


REECE Sie ee ees ER ae ak SS TTA T 89 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX 


a; 
Li: 
Ill. 


IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 


VIII. 
IX. 


XI. 


XII. 


ALI, 
XIV. 

XV. 
XVI. 


XVII. 


XVIII. 


Editorial from a local Oswego newspaper regarding the financial 
difficulties of the ‘‘ Ragged School’”’ at Oswego in 1849 


Editorial froma local Oswego newspaper showing the local interest 
in Oswego for free schools in 1849... . “SxS ee 


Courses of study in the Primary Department of the schools of the 
city of Oswego for 1859 and for 1860 . 


Sketch of the life of Margaret E. M. Jones . 
Sketch. of the life of Herman Kriisi « \.\2.). 3 uijoe oe 
Copy of the legislative act establishing the Training Class at Oswego 


Residence distribution of graduates by states, villages, towns and 
cities outside of New York State . 


Residence distribution of graduates by counties in New York State 


Residence distribution of Oswego graduates by cities and villages 
in New York State . 


. Brief sketches of faculty members of the Oswego State Normal and 


Training School who served with Dr. Sheldon from 1861 to 1886 


Sketch of an object lesson given at the end of the training course by 
Miss Kate H. Davis, a member of the first graduating class. 


Reproduction of a list of examination questions in School Manage- 
ment given at the English Home and Colonial Training Institu- 
tion 


Reproductions of sketches of object lessons taken from Dr. Shel- 
don’s original manuscripts and publications . 


Letter to Dr. Sheldon in 1863 regarding criticisms of the Oswego 
system of object teaching by Dr. H. B. Wilbur 


A letter from Miss Elizabeth Mayo of the English Home and Colon- 
ial Training Institution regarding the same point mentioned in 
Appendix XIV 


Teaching distribution of graduates by cities and states outside of 
New York Statewe dou et es 


Teaching distribution of graduates by cities and counties in New 
York ‘State siied.g 0. “yas a ee i ee 


Brief sketches of those members of the present faculty of the 
Oswego State Normal and Training School who were associated 
with Dr. Sheldon either as students or as teachers . . 


PAGE 


I21I 


I22 


124 
130 
132 


135 


137 
139 


140 


144 


157 


158 


159 


170 


176 


178 


183 


188 


FIGURE 


hi 


i. 


III. 


IV. 


VI. 


VII. 


VIII. 


IX. 


XI. 


XII. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Map showing residence distribution of the Oswego State Normal and 
Training School graduates at time of entrance. The period studied 
is 1861 to 1886. The map shows actual number of graduates by 
states 


Map showing the New York State residence distribution of graduates 
of the Oswego State Normal and Training School at entrance from 
1861 to 1886. Map shows actual number of graduates by counties 


Chart showing median ages at entrance of graduates of the Oswego 
State Normal and Training School for the years 1865 to 1886. The 
number of graduates in each year group and the range of ages are 
included. The median for the entire period is 19.65 years 


Chart showing the organization of the English Home and Colonial 
Infant Society in 1862 


. Chart showing the organization of the Oswego State Normal and 


Training School (1861-1886) 


Cut made from Dr. Sheldon’s original notes taken in Miss Jones’ class 
at Oswego in the school year 1861-1862 


Cut made from Dr. Sheldon’s original manuscript prepared for a 
parents’ meeting in Oswego . 


Cut made from an original letter from Miss Jones to Dr. Sheldon in 
1863 regarding Dr. Wilbur’s criticisms of the Oswego system of 
object teaching 


Cut made from a letter written in 1863 by Miss Elizabeth Mayo of 
the Home and Colonial Training Institution in London, regarding 
some criticisms of object teaching 


. Cut made from a letter to Dr. Sheldon, regarding his work at Oswego, 


from Francis W. Parker, in 1876 


Map showing distribution of Oswego teachers (graduates of the State 
Normal and Training School) by states, from 1861 to 1886. The 
numbers show different communities in which Oswego graduates 
taught . 


Map showing distribution by counties in New York State of graduates 
of the Oswego State Normal and Training School from 1861 to 1886 


PAGE 


19 


23 


27 


45 


62 


790 


72 


86 


89 


97 


IOI 


104 


LIST OF TABLES 


TABLE 

A. Showing residence distribution of Oswego State Normal and Training 
School graduates from 1861 to 1886, outside of New York State, and 
showing the number of separate communities represented . 


B. Showing from what states the Bridgewater (Massachusetts) State Nor- 
mal School received students, and the number from each state from 
1840 to 1876 


C. Residence study of Oswego graduates for years 1861 to 1886 outside of 
New York State and outside of Oswego city. Showing by years the 
number of Oswego graduates covering the following points: (1) the 
number of states represented outside of New York State, (2) the num- 
ber of Oswego graduates from each state represented, (3) the number 
of cities represented by these graduates, (4) the number of Oswego 
graduates from New York State, (5) total number of Oswego gradu- 
ates, (6) the number of Oswego graduates who were residents of the 
city of Oswego, and (7) the percentage of Oswego graduates not resi- 
dents of Oswego city 


D. Showing the median ages in years at date of entrance for given numbers 
of graduates of the classes in the Oswego State Normal and Training 
School from 1865 to 1886 


E. Showing distribution of 1173 Oswego Normal graduates by ages at date 
of entrance. The median age is 19.65 years. The period studied is 
from 1861 to 1886 it 


F. Showing the number of men and women graduated from the Oswego 
State Normal and Training School from 1862 to 1886. Data arranged 
for both sexes by years and by courses, together with totals 


G. Showing average salaries for both men and women for twenty-three 
states and territories for the school years 1875-76 and 1876-77 


H. Distribution of graduates of the Oswego State Normal and Training 
School by counties in New York State from 1862 to 1886 


PAGE 


20 


2i 


24 


25 


26 


30 


32 


103 


THE OSWEGO MOVEMENT IN 
AMERICAN EDUCATION 


CHAPTER -I 


CAUSAL FACTORS IN THE ORIGIN OF 
THE OSWEGO STATE NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL 


Students of educational development and especially students of 
American education quite commonly pay tribute to the tremendous 
influence of the Oswego State Normal and Training School. Its 
importance is generally characterized as ‘The Oswego Movement’’ 
or “‘The Oswego Plan.’’ The introduction of Pestalozzian princi- 
ples, object teaching, emphasis upon sense perception, and the 
administrative organization of the school are in greater or less 
degree associated with Oswego. Such conceptions are too vague 
to accomplish more than the identification of the school with an 
important period in the history of American education. Any 
study of this phase of normal school education, to be adequate, 
must not only clarify the generalizations just indicated, but ought 
to render an account of the origin of this historic educational land- 
mark. As a landmark, the Oswego State Normal and Training 
School merits its greatest significance in the educational world 
with reference to the first twenty-five years of its existence. It 
was during that period (1861-1886) that the institution enjoyed 
its greatest prominence, the attention and interest of educators 
later being directed to the work of Francis W. Parker, and to the 
Herbartian and Froebelian Movements. 


A. Epwarp AUSTIN SHELDON’S First WoRK IN OSWEGO 


To appreciate fully the growth of an institution one must trace 
its development to the first, and many times inconspicuous factors 
which constitute its ultimate source. This study is not an excep- 
tion. In the autumn of 1848 Edward Austin Sheldon was faced 
by the necessity of finding something to do. The business firm 
in which he had been financially and actively interested in Oswego 
had become insolvent and he was without employment and without 


2 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


means.! Possessing a strong missionary spirit he became interested 
in the poor children of the city. He found that literally hundreds 
were illiterate and that the homes from which they came were 
often destitute of the very necessities of life.2 As he visited these 
poor people he became more and more convinced that some means 
should be taken to furnish the children with free education and to 
attempt to improve their living conditions. Mr. Sheldon, at 
that time twenty-five years old, was successful in enlisting the 
interest and financial assistance of a group of influential and philan- 
thropic citizens and so was able to organize what he called ‘‘The 
Orphan and Free School Association.’’ The first meeting of the 
‘‘prominent, benevolent, active citizens’’ took place October 
31 and the organization was launched November 28.‘ Article 
I of the constitution indicates the purposes of the association: 

The object of this association shall be the intellectual and moral education 


and improvement of such poor and orphan children in this city as are not other- 
wise provided for in these respects. 


At this time Mr. Sheldon was planning to enter Auburn Theologi- 
cal Seminary as a student but the insistence of the citizens of 
Oswego that he become the teacher for this new school caused him 
to change his plans.* He accepted this responsibility as an urgent 
duty. Until this opportunity arose Mr. Sheldon had not given any 
serious thought to the possibility of becoming a teacher and so 
when faced by this problem he hesitated because of his unfitness, 
as he conceived it, for the task to be done. He received $300 a 
year for his services.’ 

The “‘ragged school,’’ as it was called, assembled in the basement 
of an old building with an enrollment of between 120 and 130.8 
The work was strenuous and, coupled with the visits Mr. Sheldon 
made to the homes of the various children, time was no burden 
to the young teacher. The school was an innovation and the sight 
of the youthful schoolmaster walking through the streets surrounded 
by these ‘wild Irish and French” boys aroused a great deal of 
local interest and enthusiasm for the undertaking.® 

1 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 68. 8 Tbid., p. 78. 

2 Ibid., p. 74. ® Ibid., p. 70. 

5’ From a letter to his sister, November 23, 1848. 

4 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 74. 

5 Ibid., p. 77. 


6 Tbitd., p. 77. 
7 Ibid., p. 78. 


Causal Factors in Origin 3 


B. THE MOVEMENT FOR FREE SCHOOLS IN OSWEGO 


Like many other worthy enterprises this one in time suffered 
from a waning interest and young Sheldon, believing so thoroughly 
in the local need for free education, and foreseeing the failure” of 
the ‘Orphan and Free School Association,’’ urged upon the mem- 
bers of his committee the importance of making all public schools 
of the city free." The response to his suggestion was encouraging 
and the result was a public meeting to discuss the advisability 
of such a proposal.” 


C. ORGANIZATION OF THE OSWEGO BOARD OF EDUCATION 


In 1849 Oswego had a population of about 12,000.% The city 
was divided into twelve school districts, each having complete 
autonomy in all respects. Each district was jealous of its pre- 
rogatives and on this ground opposition arose to the plan which 
provided for one governing board. The most unfortunate antagon- 
ism developed at the first public meeting when it was alleged by a 
local politician that the whole plan was a scheme to build a system 
of Protestant educational institutions which the Roman Catholics 
would be forced to support.!® This appeal to religious prejudices 
was effective and did much to delay the legal procedure necessary 
to make the plan operative. It was not until the winter of 1852-53 
that a bill was passed by the state legislature authorizing the 
organization of a free school system in Oswego. This Act provided 
for special elections, from year to year, beginning 1853 at which 
time ward representatives were to be elected to serve as school 
commissioners. This group of public officials was designated as a 
corporate body with power to appoint a secretary and librarian, 
to fix his compensation, determine his tenure of office, and pre- 
scribe his duties. The board of education was authorized to deter- 
mine and certify to the common council (in which body the taxing 
power was vested) regarding all items of operation and maintenance; 
they were empowered and obligated to provide educational facili- 
ties for the children in the city not otherwise provided for by law, 

10 See Appendix I. 

ll Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 89. 


12 See Appendix II. 

18 According to the report of the United States Census Bureau of 1850 the population of Oswego, 
N. Y., was 12,205. P: 

14 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, pp. 90, 99. 

15 Tbid., p. 90. 


4 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


and to provide the necessary school officers to make effective the 
educational program adopted. They were further entrusted with 
the custodianship of all public school properties subject to final 
action by the common council. The common council acting directly 
for the city as a corporate unit was not only authorized to levy 
taxes, pass regulations for the protection of school property, etc., 
but was obligated by this Act to observe the recommendations 
of the school commissioners.!® The first board of education there 
was organized May 11th, 1853.17 When the movement for free 
schools seemed fairly launched (1850) and because the “‘ragged 
school’? was no longer being adequately supported, Mr. Sheldon 
became principal of a private school in the city.* He stayed in 
Oswego in this capacity until 1851 when he was invited to become 
superintendent of public schools in Syracuse, New York, which 
position he accepted at an annual salary of $600.'° In 1853 when 
the Oswego Board of Education was organized, Mr. Sheldon, 
quite without solicitation, was elected secretary at an annual 
salary of $800.2? Even though he had enjoyed but a brief admini- 
stration at Syracuse he accepted the position and the opportunities 
thus afforded in organizing a school system from its beginning, 
and in this capacity began what proved to be his life work.” 


D. Mr. SHELDON’S WorK AS SECRETARY OF THE OSWEGO 
BOARD OF EDUCATION 


Conditions demanded radical changes and the effective accom- 
plishment of needed reorganization required infinite tact on the 
part of the responsible head of the new school system. A quotation 
from Mr. Sheldon’s autobiography will clearly picture the piri 
situation and describe the new plan of organization :” 


In several districts I found a single teacher instructing all grades. In a few 
others, the work of instruction was divided between two teachers. In two schools 
algebra was taught, but with these exceptions no branches above the common 
English were taught. In a few cases the teaching was good, in others poor, 
very poor. My plan was soon perfected. I decided to wipe out all present dis- 
trict boundaries and establish new ones on an entirely new plan, as follows: I 


16 First Annual Report of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego for the year ending 
March 31, 1854. 

17 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 93. 

18 [bid., p. 90. 

19 Tbid., p. 92. 

20 Tbid., p. 93. 

21 Mary Sheldon Barnes. Biographical Sketch of Edward Austin Sheldon. 

22 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, pp. 101, 102. 


Causal Factors in Origin 5 


arranged the city into twelve primary school districts, as nearly equal in number 
of children as I could estimate. The schools should embrace the first three years 
of the child’s school life, from five to seven, or practically that. I divided the city 
again into four Junior School districts, which were to include children in the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth years of their school life, or from eight to ten years of 
age. I endeavored to distribute the children of these ages around four schools 
as nearly equally as possible. I then arranged for two Senior Schools, one on 
each side of the river, providing a three years’ course after the Junior Schools, 
and including ages from eleven to thirteen. 

Where buildings were located conveniently for the accommodation of one or 
more of these groups, they were accordingly utilized. In the outskirts or sparsely 
populated portions of the city, the small buildings, if conveniently located, were 
occupied by primary groups alone. If any building was suitably located for a 
primary and a Junior group to be together, it was so utilized. Sometimes the 
plan arranged for a Junior group in a separate building, sometimes for a Senior 
group in the same way. In but one instance were all the groups found in a 
single building. 

The High School course was arranged for four years, embracing all the 
branches at present (1897) taught in the high schools of this State. This com- 
pleted a continuous course of thirteen years. A definite course of study was 
marked out for each year, comprising an entire continuous course from the 
Primary School through the High School. 


Due to the efficiency of Mr. Sheldon’s educational organization, 
his choice of teachers, and the quality of the members of the Board 
of Education, the community on the whole was well satisfied by 
the results of the new system at the end of the first year.7 During 
the second year the most important new feature of his work was 
the organization of what was called ‘‘arithmetic schools.’’4 These 
classes were planned for a large number of older and larger boys 
who were for a part of the year without employment, especially 
during the winter months. They were on the whole earnest stu- 
dents although rough and untutored. Their chief interest was 
arithmetic, hence the name given to that part of the school or- 
ganization which attempted to meet their needs. Frequently, 
in addition to arithmetic, they studied reading, writing, spelling, 
and sometimes, geography or bookkeeping.”» The creation of these 
schools, of which there were two, one on each side of the river, is 
significant in studying the development of educational thought 
on the part of the man to whom credit has been constantly and 
justly given as the founder of the institution whose growth and 

% Ibid., pp. 105, 108. 


% Tbid., p. 109. 
% Ibid., p. 109. 


6 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


influence is the subject of this thesis. First, it is significant be- 
cause it indicates the seriousness and the earnestness with which 
Mr. Sheldon undertook to solve the educational problems with 
which he was faced from the beginning. The result was a keen 
sensitivity to needs and a prompt and certain response which ulti- 
mately gained for him the confidence and respect of those for whom 
he unceasingly labored. In the second place, it is evidence of not 
only educational insight but of educational outlook as well. There 
was little precedent in the country for such part-time work and 
we may very properly trace the roots of part-time and continu- 
ation school work as it is known in this country to-day to such 
sporadic attempts as that in the United States, of which the action 
taken at Oswego to provide a remedy for an urgent need is 
an example. In the third place, the plan providing instruction 
for this extraordinary group of students is indicative of very credit- 
able educational statesmanship. Had it been possible to place 
these students in the regular classes of the school system, it is al- 
together likely that the evil social results thereby resulting would 
have counterbalanced any advantages which were to be expected 
by furnishing these boys with desired instruction. It would have 
been humiliating to them to be compelled to do the same work 
that children younger than themselves were able to do, and the 
possible dangers in having the younger pupils in direct contact 
with this uncouth group loom large. An educational as well as a 
social problem existed in the range of ages in this group, from 
eleven to twenty-one years. All these questions Mr. Sheldon met 
with rare wisdom, with the consequence that the dangers were 
avoided and a real need was adequately met. 

This educational statesmanship to which reference has already 
been made showed itself in other forms. From the outset, evening 
schools were included as a part of the school system. In these 
evening schools one hundred and thirty-nine pupils registered the ~ 
first winter.2° The difference in student personnel between the 
‘‘arithmetic schools’’ and the evening schools made little difference 
in the subjects offered. In the Third Annual Report of the Board 
of Education it is stated that algebra was given in the evening 
schools but not in the ‘‘arithmetic schools.’’ There were no girls 
in the ‘‘arithmetic schools.”’ The boys of these day-schools repre- 
sented laborers, clerks, sailors, millers, farmers, carpenters, cabinet- 


26 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 110. 


Causal Factors in Origin , 


makers, machinists, coopers, tinners, firemen, boatmen, shoemakers, 
blacksmiths, teamsters, rope-makers, tanners, butchers, masons, 
soldiers, and a considerable number (76, or 34.2%, the third year) 
who had no regular employment. There was an average daily 
attendance of less than forty per cent. There was a large per- 
centage of girls (32.8%, the third year) in the evening-schools.?? 
In these schools the various occupations represented that year were 
laborers, machinists, farmers, carpenters, chair-makers, clerks, 
millers, servant girls, seamstresses, sailors, tinners, surveyors, 
saddlers, bookbinders, masons, housekeepers, dressmakers, and 
some without any special business. Their nationalities, Irish, 
American, English, Scotch, Canadian, German, French, and 
African furnish an additional sidelight upon the composition of 
both schools. How well the subjects offered in these day- and 
evening-schools met the educational needs of this heterogeneous 
group may well be a matter of some speculation, but the important 
things to emphasize are their own interest in the work and the fact 
that an effort was made by the educational authorities to provide 
free instruction to the youth of the community. 

Another important achievement was the establishment of an 
Unclassified School. This, too, seems to have had little precedent 
in this country. At Oswego at that time it served to provide better 
for those pupils who had been transferred from other schools where 
there had been no system of classifying pupils by grades, or where 
the system was unlike that at Oswego. It helped to meet the needs 
of those who for economic or social reasons could take advantage 
of only a short term of school attendance, and who because of their 
particular problems wished to pursue some special subjects. The 
Unclassified School was, too, a serious attempt to deal in an effec- 
tive way with the problems of over-ageness and over-sizeness which 
are often vexatious in the school system which does not provide 
for special class activities. At the end of the first year of the experi- 
ment (March 31, 1860) the Unclassified School was pronounced a 
success and considered a part of the school organization.*° 

27 Third Annual Report of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego for the year ending 
March 31, 1856, p. 34. 

% Ibid., p. 35. 

29 Ibid., p. 36. 


30 Seventh Annual Report of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego for the year ending 
March 31, 1860, p. 40. 


8 The Oswego Movement in American Education — 


The inauguration of these plans at Oswego to provide for the 
treatment of special problems which arose from time to time, 
through the establishment of the ‘‘arithmetic schools,”’ of the even- 
ing schools, and of the Unclassified School, are among the earliest 
forms of our modern part-time or continuation schools, our night- 
schools, and our special classes for retarded, deficient, and delin- 
quent children. It is remarkable that Mr. Sheldon in the midst 
of organizing a whole city school system could find the means of 
executing plans designed to care for so many special educational 
problems. Many fail even to see the problem. He not only saw 
the needs but he formulated effective ways of dealing with them 
and was able in the first seven years of his work as superintendent 
of the city schools to put those plans into actual operation. 

The annual reports of the board of education show that Mr. 
Sheldon’s work was composed in a large measure of many problems 
much more common to the average school superintendent than those 
to which reference has been made. He was faced from the beginning 
with problems of adequate housing facilities and equipment, and 
as the schools increased in numbers of pupils attending, the question 
could never be considered as settled. The enrollment nearly doubled 
in about three years’ time after the city system of free schools was 
installed.* 

The problem of school attendance is mentioned in the Third 
Annual Report of the Board of Education with some asperity. In 
the absence of compulsory attendance laws much of the responsi- 
bility for regular attendance rightfully rested with the parents. 
Mr. Sheldon pointed out that in the matter of tardiness over 7046 
hours or 293 days had been lost during the school year just closed, 
and that 67,923 days, or about 186 years, had been lost through 
irregular attendance.*? In the Fourth Annual Report of the Board 
of Education nine and one-half pages are devoted to the matter of 
school attendance. It presents an argument for better cooperation 
from parents and for legislation which will be just and at the same 
time will be drastic enough to result in a higher percentage of daily 
attendance.** It is interesting to note that at the time Dr. Sheldon 
wrote his autobiography (1897) he had modified his views regarding 

31 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 111. 

82 Third Annual Report of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego for the year ending 


March 31, 1856, pp. 27, 28. 
33 Fourth Annual Report, March 31, 1857, pp. 17-26. 


Causal Factors in Origin 9 


compulsory school attendance laws to the extent that he seriously 
questioned the wisdom of having any such laws.*4 

Moral training had been emphasized from the beginning of Mr. 
Sheldon’s work in Oswego, separate courses on formal moral in- 
struction having been given. This phase of the work was changed 
later in favor of more indirect methods, yet the teachers were re- 
quired to be mindful of the need of rigorous discipline to the end 
that moral training might be effectively realized. 

The board of education had a regulation that every teacher 
should attend the weekly conferences (Saturdays, 9 to I2 A.M.) 








was ‘“‘mutual instruction and Page er ete i ise “recita- 
Be ncral exercises’ the teachers were to systematize and 


perfect f methods of teaching. The merit of each teacher in the 
recitation work of these Saturday classes was reported to the 
board of education by the teachers in charge of the class exercises.*® 


Mr. Sheldon laid great stress upon the value of the work accom- 
plished by these meetings and it is quite probable that the pro- 
fessional character of these conferences under his direction explains 
the progress of the whole city school system educationally.*? 

The organization of the school work day by day was carried to 
an extreme. Mr. Sheldon could tell at any hour of the day what 
was being done by the various teachers** and the work was vigor- 
ously checked at the end of the year by a rigid examination.®® 
The accounts of these examinations, found in the annual reports of 
the Oswego Board of Education, reveal their nature: they consisted 
of fact questions, problems to be solved, words to be spelled, and 
definitions and rules to be given; all subjects were included in the 
tests which were given orally by the teachers from marked text 
book copies, not placed in the hands of the teachers before the time 
for the test. Public recitals including oral and written composition, 
and vocal music, together with the strict check upon the informa- 
tional achievements of the pupils indicate the formal character of 
the work done during the school year. Ideals, attitudes, apprecia- 
tions, individual interests, etc., were not mentioned in the reports 

34 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, pp. 113 f. 

% Tbid., p. 114. 

36 First Annual Report of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego for the Year ending 
March 31, 1854, Dp. 43- 

37 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, Patr2: 


38 Tbid., p. I15. 
39 Tbid., p. I14. 


10 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


of the examinations. On the other hand the tests were held to be 
a great stimulus to good work. One can only conclude that the 
stimulation was in the direction of careful preparation for these 
tests, and since the tests were designed to test progress in gaining 
information, it follows that the preparation would be mainly the 
acquisition of knowledge. That great emphasis was placed upon 
the annual tests is shown by the nature of some of his early reports 
upon the progress of the schools. The following is from ue Sixth 
Annual Report of the Board of Education :*° 


The whole number of pupils examined was ........ . 1,966 
Whole number of questions asked ... . . «. . «+. . es) see 
Number answered right .) < 7 (0.0) Ya 
Number answered wrong .° 20. 4) 4... 1) S520 A 
Per cent: right)% |'.: 2. > poe ee US! RE Mie fe 92 
The per cent. was in 1858 ih de Bia Qe Gee ee 87 
The: per ‘cent. was,in.1857) 0's sis) » ail te 81 
The per cent. wasin 1856 ..... 74 


This shows an advance of 18 per cent. Saree the teat 4 years, or an 
average yearly advance of 6 per cent. 


Many of the problems have been mentioned and briefly discussed 
to illustrate the educational development which lead to the estab- 
lishment of a Training Class. The greatest problem which faced 
Mr. Sheldon and his staff of teachers was the certainty that there 
was something lacking in the scheme of things in spite of the ade- 
quacy with which the several problems, already referred to, had 
been met. In the Sixth and in the Seventh Annual Reports of 
the Board of Education extensive discussions of the difficulties 
were given. Following are quotations from each of these reports 
respectively which clearly indicate what were the most urgent 
needs and which eventually led to the establishment of the Train- 
ing Class that in turn grew into a state normal school: 


Those with quick and active minds where they have strong physical consti- 
tutions, must be passed on more rapidly, without the formality of a regular 
transfer, while those in delicate health, with slender constitutions, must be 
content to take more time, and occasionally drop out a year. As this subject is 
one that has elicited much discussion among some of the most intelligent friends 
of our schools, a committee, consisting mostly of those who were known to have 
manifested the deepest interest, and among them three highly intelligent medical 
gentlemen, were invited to meet at the offices of the Board and examine care- 
fully the course of study; what it required each year, and each term of the year, 


40 Sixth Annual Report of the Board of Education of Oswego, March 31, 18509, p. 5. 
™~ 


Causal Factors in Origin II 


and make any suggestions in regard to any point wherein they might think any 
improvement could be made. Two sessions were had, with a week intervening, 
and the whole subject was carefully investigated and discussed, and the con- 
clusion to which all seemed to arrive, was, as little as could be reasonably as- 
signed—that the standard was, in fact, a low one.*! 


There has, for some time, been felt a necessity for a change, or at least some 
modification, of the program of studies in our primary Schools. There has been 
too much teaching by formulas, and not enough by oral and collateral instruction. 
We are quite too apt, in the education of children, ‘to sail over their heads’; 
to present subjects that are quite beyond their comprehension, or in a manner 
which fails to leave in the mind of the learner a clear perception of the truths 
inculcated. How to get out of the rut into which we have fallen, seemed difficult 
to tell. By means of moral and object lessons, teachers have endeavored to 
awaken new interests, and break up, in some measure, the old routine of study 
and recreation. These exercises were, however, without much system or order 
and with but little idea of what was to be accomplished by them, and no satis- 
factory results were obtained. In every exercise it is of the highest importance 
that there should be some definite aim and purpose on the part of the teacher, and 
that she should work with reference to obtaining certain results. We have felt 
the need of proper text books or manuals, as guides for the teacher in oral in- 
struction.” 


E. EpucAaTIONAL NEEDS IN OSWEGO 


After discussing the educational needs of the schools in Oswego 
with the superintendent of the city schools of Elmira, Mr. Sheldon 
made a tour of inspection of the Toronto school system and was 
astonished to find just what he felt was needed in the Oswego 
schools in the way of collections of pictures, charts of colors, form, 
reading charts, and books for teachers. These were found, not in 
the schools of Toronto, but in a museum where they had been 
placed by the Minister of Education for Ontario who had been 
abroad collecting educational materials from various parts of the 
world.“ It will be observed that at the time Mr. Sheldon made his 
Seventh Annual Report (1860) that he was thoroughly impressed 
by the importance of the work which was being done under the 
auspices of the ‘‘Home and Colonial Infant and Juvenile School 
Society’’ of London, about which he learned from an exhibit which 
he found in the National Museum in Toronto the year previous. 
Mr. Sheldon invested $300 in some of these materials from the 
English schools indicated above, submitted them to the board of 

41 Tbid. pp. 2of. 

42 Seventh Annual Report of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego for the year ending 


March 31, 1860. p. 12. 
4 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 116, 117. 


I2 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


education, obtained their approval, and put into operation the new 
system or course of study which attracted so much attention later.“4 

The essential differences between the old course of study and 
the new one are clearly discernible in a comparative examination 
of the courses of study for the primary department for the school 
years ending March 31, 1859, and March 31, 1860. In the 
first place there was apparent in the outlines an increased emphasis 
upon moral instruction. At this time it was given in regular class 
exercises—discussion of moral issues suggested by textbooks on 
the subject, by stories in prose or poetry, and by Bible references 
used in connection with incidents arising in the child’s study. There 
is no suggestion in the outlines that moral instruction grew out of 
the natural experiences of the children. In fact, now and then, 
sketches of lessons in moral instruction used years later show that 
the subject was based upon the analysis of selections in current, 
classical, and Biblical literature. How this formal teaching of 
moral standards functioned was determined in a prescribed manner, 
only by the examinations which called for a repetition of principles 
memorized. 

Another difference lies in the change from reading, spelling, and 
arithmetic to lessons in form, color, size, weight, animals, plants, 
the human body, place, and number. In the outlines the distinc- 
tions are not always clear, but the general trend was toward the 
use of familiar objects and ideas. Natural history emerged as a 
subject for emphasis; drawing seems to have been used more and 
more as a means of expression and illustration in the study of 
objects. . 

A third point of difference is found in the reference to ‘‘steps”’ 
in teaching the various subjects. There appears to have been a 
distinct effort at this time (1860) to grade the units of instruction 
to conform to the mental, moral and physical development of the 
child. How well this was done cannot be determined from the 
outlines of the work for these two years. Sketches of lessons used in 
the primary department later in the development of object teaching 
at Oswego show that the attempt to provide graded lessons was 
best exemplified in the lessons on reading and number. 

A fourth distinction between the courses of study outlined for 
1859 and 1860 is expressed in the stated purposes of the new course. 


44 Tbid., p. 117. 
# In Appendix III these two courses of study are reproduced in outline form. 


~ Causal Factors in Origin 13 


jvt he apparently accepted principles signify the shift of emphasis, 

<. theory at least, from the acquisition of knowledge to the stimula- 
tion and development of powers of observation, and the spirit of 

Y inquiry as primary considerations in the educative process. | To 
the realization of these ends the children were to be encouraged 
to do most of the talking and acting, and to form their own conclu- 
sions. The teacher was accordingly designated as a quickening 
and a leading force in school activities. The type or work indicated 
by these differences represented strange and unexplored territory 
to the Oswego teachers. Mr. Sheldon with his characteristic dili- 
gence from the outset undertook to surmount the difficulties which 
were indigenous to the inauguration of the new course of study. 
Throughout the first year he concentrated his effort upon the work 
of the first grade or first year. He met the teachers every Saturday, 
discussing with them the principles and methods concerning the 
work of the coming week, and then gave his whole time during 
that week to careful classroom supervision. The second year he 
did the same thing for the second grade.4® Mr. Sheldon soon saw 
the futility of this plan of procedure for his local purposes, for as 
soon as his teachers were well trained they were invited elsewhere 
at salaries which the Oswego Board of Education could not meet.*? 
This condition was virtually the progenitor of the plan for establish- 
ing a training school. 

With the trained teachers frequently leaving for other positions 
and with the problem of constantly preparing new teachers to 
replace those who went elsewhere, Mr. Sheldon was confronted by 
the impossibility of accomplishing his purpose, viz., the adequate 
introduction of the new methods of teaching into the Oswego 
school system. Consequently, he proposed to the board of educa- 
tion that a city training school be established for the training of 
primary teachers. He recommended that graduates from their 
“own and other high schools, or persons of equal scholastic attain- 
ments,’’ be admitted to a special course for primary teachers which 
would be “‘strictly professional’ in character. ‘‘One half of the 
time was to be given to a discussion of educational principles and 
their application to teaching the elementary branches, and the 
other half to teaching under criticism.’’8 The board of education 
approved the proposition. 

46 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 133. 


47 Thid., pp. 1336. 
48 Ibid. p. 134. 


14 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


A question, more baffling than the plan for the Oswego Primary 
Teachers’ Training School, developed in finding a suitably prepared 
teacher to advance the new methods adopted. Nowhere in America 
was the work of schools organized in the fashion indicated by the 
outline previously discussed (the new outline). The English Home 
and Colonial Infant and Juvenile Society schools, while organized 
under a different plan,*? employed Pestalozzian principles. 

This society was organized in England in 1836 and had for its 
principles the following: 

That, as the different faculties of children are developed at different periods, 
care should be taken to adapt their lessons to the state of their minds, in order 
that all the faculties may be called out in the right order. 

That the education of the mind must begin when the exercise of the mind 
begins and should follow precisely, both in degree and amount, the natural order 
of this development. 

That education consists, not in the amount which you can put into the mind 


from without, but in the amount which it can gain from its own development 
and exercise from within. 


These principles expressed the general objectives of Mr. Sheldon 
and he accordingly wrote to the secretary of the Society to as- 
certain if a teacher could be obtained and if so, under what condi- 
tions.*° The reply to his letter stated that Miss Margaret E. M. 
Jones*!, who had been a teacher with them for eighteen years, would 
come for a salary of one thousand dollars and all living expenses. 
The Oswego Board of Education was staggered by such a sum but 
consented to make the appointment when assured by Mr. Sheldon 
that ‘it should not cost the city one cent.” This extraordinary 
financial feat®? was accomplished in three ways: (1) by charging 
the non-resident students a tuition fee of fifty dollars, (2) by con- 
tributions’ from Oswego teachers interested in the new plan of 
education, and (3) by converting one of the schools into a practice 
school thereby saving the salary of one teacher.™ 

In May, 1861, Miss Jones assumed her duties as head of the Os- 
wego Primary Teachers’ Training School. She proved herself 
fully equal to the work she had undertaken. At the beginning there 

49 Tbid., p. 135. 

50 Tbid., p. 135. 

51 Appendix IV presents a brief account of Miss Jones’ life. 

52 In fact at the end of the year the sum of three hundred dollars over and above actual ex- 
penses was put into the school treasury. See Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, p. 135. 


53 These contributions amounted to one-half of the annual salary of the teachers so interested. 
54 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, pp. 135f. 


Causal Factors in Origin 15 


were nine pupils in the regular Training Class. The work was 
conducted in a primary school of about two hundred children. 
The school was closed at an early hour in the afternoon in order to 
provide an opportunity for those teachers interested in the “new 
methods”’ to meet Miss Jones to discuss the underlying principles 
of the new forms of teaching, and their applications in the various 
subjects. This group of teachers met with the regular class every 
afternoon at three-thirty and every Saturday morning.® 

The teachers of the city exhibited every degree of interest in 
Miss Jones’ work from enthusiasm to total indifference or active 
opposition. The disinterested and antagonistic groups were small 
and exerted little influence upon the progress of the enterprise, 
while those who carefully studied the new problem of education 
later enjoyed a wide influence in pedagogical circles.*® 

In addition to the practice school there was a model school used 
exclusively for observation purposes, and one school taught ex- 
clusively by members of the Training Class. While this organiza- 
tion was not the first normal school in America, Mr. Sheldon main- 
tained that it was the first teachers’ training school ever estab- 
lished on this continent.*” 

At the end of the year Miss Jones returned to England and Mr. 
Sheldon, against his wishes, was made principal of the new Training 
School. Miss Jones, upon leaving, recommended a friend, a former 
associate in the English Home and Colonial School, to carry for- 
ward the work she had begun. This friend was Hermann Kriisi, 
Jr.,°8 son of the Hermann Kriisi who had been personally associated 
with Pestalozzi. Mr. Sheldon was for the second time extremely 
fortunate in securing an apostle of object teaching who, as in the 
case of Miss Jones, was both by training and experience admirably 
fitted to further the work of the Training Class. 

The activities of the Training School had, by the second year, 
been considerably extended. Following is a list of instructors 
showing the duties of each faculty member as far as the Training 
Class was concerned: 


E, A. SHELDON, A.M., Principal 


Subjects of Instruction—Natural History and School Organization and 
Discipline. 


55 Tbid., pp. 137f. 

56 Tbid., pp. 137f. 

i Thtd., p. 138. 

58 Appendix V reproduces a sketch of the life of Hermann Kriisi, Jr. 


16 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


HERMANN KrutsI 
Teacher of Method in Form, Number, Drawing, and in Mental Philosophy. 


E. D. WELLER 
Teacher of Method in Reading and Language. 


Miss A. P. FUNNELL 


Teacher of Method in Lessons on Animals and Moral Instruction, and Princi- 
pal of the Practicing Schools. 


Mrs. M. H. SmitH 
Teacher of Method in Object Lessons, Color, and Geography. 


Miss ELLEN SEAVER 
Teacher of Method in Advanced Lessons on Plants and Objects. 


Only one of the group, Miss Funnell, devoted full time to the enter- 
prise; the others had a variety of duties related to other phases 
of the school system. Each class of the practice school had its 
permanent teacher under whose direction, together with the general 
supervisor (Miss Funnell), the students of the Training School 
were initiated into the responsibilities and privileges of classroom 
teaching.®® 

During the second year of the life of the Training School the 
state legislature was asked for an appropriation to aid in the sup- 
port of the school. In February, 1863, an appropriation was made 
but due to some technicality in the law no benefit was derived that 
year. In 1864 the law was amended and on May 5, 1865, and 
on March 31, 1866, the sums of $2,128.50 and $1,781.67 were 
received by the Oswego Board of Education subject to certain con- 
ditions®® regarding the provision by the City of Oswego of buildings, 
grounds, equipment, etc., and also concerning such matters as the 
length of school term, number of students enrolled, management, 
and reports. 

Thus, slowly but surely, the educational problems of Oswego 
crystallized and accumulated until in 1863, fifteen years after Mr. 
Sheldon’s ‘‘ragged school’? began its work, the Training School 
took form as an institution meriting state recognition. In closing 
this chapter it is interesting to note the similarities in the early 
experiences of Edward Austin Sheldon and of Pestalozzi whose 
principles of teaching the Oswego Movement advocated. Both 
came from parentage poor but respectable and respected; both 


59 Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, pp. 1578. 
60 Appendix VI is a copy of the Act establishing the Training School. 


Causal Factors in Origin 17 


developed a passionate interest in the welfare of the poorer classes 
of humanity (Pestalozzi relinquished his plans to study law; Sheldon 
sacrificed his hopes for a theological career) ; each possessed a natural 
kindness of character, which adversity only strengthened into an 
enthusiastic benevolence; each held a profound faith in a Supreme 
Providence, directed by a merciful God; both established schools 
for the poor, and were locally characterized in their daily lives by 
crowds of admiring, affectionate, and trusting children; each saw 
his ‘‘poor’’ school fail for lack of adequate support; and both re- 
established schools which attracted wide attention in educational 
circles. ® 

61 Parallels were drawn from readings in the Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon, and 
from a lecture on the life of Pestalozzi given in May, 1826, by the Reverend Charles Mayo, LL.D. 


of Cheam, Surry, and St. John’s College, Oxford. (Printed for the Home and Colonial School 
Society in 1856, Depot, Gray’s-Inn-Road, London.) 


CHAPTER II 


A DESCRIPTION OF THE OSWEGO STATE NORMAL AND 
TRAINING SCHOOL (1861-1886) 


A. THE STUDENT PERSONNEL 


The professional character of the work of the Oswego State Nor- 
mal and Training School throughout the period with which this 
study is concerned accounts in part at least for the earnestness 
of the student body. Academic instruction was the orthodox 
form of classroom education then practised generally throughout 
the country. It follows that those who were sufficiently interested 
in professional training to the extent of risking criticism because 
of a lack, real or alleged, of cultural training would pursue their 
work with unusual zeal. There is further evidence to support 
this argument. In the case of the Oswego school the type of pro- 
fessional work was so new that it attracted country-wide attention. 
As a result students came from a great many parts of the country 
and the interest in the new object teaching created such a demand! 
for Oswego graduates that many school communities encouraged 
their best students to attend.? Historical sketches of the school 
bear testimony to the intelligence and diligence of its students 
and the missionary spirit of its graduates may be traced to the 
character of the work done in preparation for their professional 
activities. . 

The drawing power of the institution as pictured by the map 
(Fig. 1) showing the residence location*® of the students by states 
bears out the contention that the reputation of the work of the 
school exerted a powerful influence upon the personnel of the stu- 
dent body. Distances were greater then than in days of modern 
transportation facilities. The railroad had penetrated the Middle 
West or Mississippi Valley region only a short time before 1861 
and transcontinental railroad travel became common much later. 

Of the 1251 graduates for whom data on this point are available, 
one hundred seventy-five came from states outside of New York. 

1 An account of this demand will be elaborated in a later section. 

2 “History of the Normal School,’’ a paper read by Herman Kriisi at the Quarter Centennial 


Celebration in 1886, from the First Quarter Century Report, p. 54. 
3 Residence data could be obtained from the alumni records for 1251 of the 1284 graduates. 


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20 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


In fact, twenty-four other states were represented and four stu- 
dents came from Canada and one from Japan. This large group 
of students came from one hundred thirty-one separate communities. 
Table A reveals the actual number of villages, towns, and cities 
by states. The inclusion of the numbers of students by states in 
this table is made because of the variations from the numbers of 
different communities which tend to indicate that the reputation 
of the school was well established in individual communities as 
well as wide-spread.* 


TABLE A 


Showing Residence Distribution of Oswego State Normal and Training School 
Graduates from 1861-1866, Outside of New York State, and Showing the Number 
of Separate Communities Represented. 


No. of No. of No. of No. of 
Communities| Students Communities} Students 
APEANGAS (bdr UOln I 1.) Nebraska 4 tee I 4 
Cognernictity sins New Hampshire. . I 2 
Delawares. os... ¥ed: I 1 |New Jersey...... IO 15 
AUASTs Tae Cae ia 8 ‘10 12/ JON eoh 1. ae 16 22 
Aidtania...5.-Ge yee 15 20 |Pennsylvania..... 16 21 
LOW eh rors he ae 2 2 |Rhode Island.... 3 3 
IRBHSAG Ee ed ulin alie I 1 |South Carolina... “1 I 
KOMP UCICVe ess Uw sity I LW Wermongis. |} ore 16 25 
DISine ty. 4 ulema I SA Ving inin J aon ae 2 2 
Maryland)... accuse 2 2 |West Virginia.... I I 
Massachusetts...... 9 11. |Wisconsitts:. 0, a 5 6 
Waweipan.). eas 7 UE wmercescwmmmy to 

MSSOUII ule hig cee I 1. /iCanada /..y eee 4 4 
Japan waite I I 

Dotals:. te cae eve 131 175 


Bridgewater (Mass.) State Normal School, one of the earliest 
institutions of its kind in the United States, from 1840 to 1876 
had 2324 students, 1440 of whom were graduated.> Table B shows 
the states from which students came to this historic institution. 
Only forty-three or 1.7 per cent came from states and countries 
outside of the New England States and the total number outside of 
Massachusetts is only 290 or 12.4 per cent of the total number of stu- 

4 Appendix VII gives the residence distribution by states and by villages, towns, and cities 


within each state of one hundred and seventy-five students outside of New York. 
5 From the Bridgewater Quinquennial Report and Register. 


Description 21 


dents. Fourteen per cent of Oswego’s graduates came from outside 
of New York State. Theland area of New York State insquare miles 
is about three fourths that of all of the New England States com- 
bined and nearly six times that of Massachusetts. There are 
two points to remember in making this comparison between Bridge- 
water and Oswego. The figures for Bridgewater showing the resi- 
dence distribution of students represent the entire student groups 
the period studied in the case of Oswego is twenty-five years in 
length while that for Bridgewater is thirty-five years long. The 
comparison leads to the conclusion that OswegoWwas more national 
in character than Bridgewater or, to state the case in a different 
way, Bridgewater drew its students from a On ae local 
area compared to Oswego. 


TABLE B 


Showing from What States the Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Normal School 
Received Students, and the Number from Each State 1840 to 1876. 


MPSPMACONBCTIS es)... vans otic ase | oat oiNew Hampshire: , ants tained 100 
SS RE RD RO Oe nS Beh node Telancs. 2. uo Ae al 40 
a ae Ce ae a Rae CC ONTOCCEICUE js ore atoe sin Pare 10 
MemeuIvaMla sv. ee pe 4 District of Columbia.......... 2 
Peemrerse ye i Sead. OIL VTC) cate) SS Se oe 3 
DEER eae iy PLO, PRa OOO fine ye ON es ey s 
ESCO ES e PR TCOMCUCEY sista WU iisntil pate set I 
a SE aa Pie VAC IG AN bos 2.% Rint. taseulnuiep eeu at I 
Ge SieoOuth Garona o)..0 ores oye a I 
RCO Se yas EI RERAG i las lcctecs asalenius sea ee I 
0 GS VS Ag ARR ie a PAVClanaday tam ae Uae. Deen & I 
Ch SSS ee Be Span ee SR I 
ASS ye a ee ae ae 2 
PPOLELLS TAP Ae ene Medes ahs Moo eiinel send teen: 8 2324 
Graduates. 24nle ema’ 1440 
Not/Graduatesin i) oa. GY uys 884 


The residence distribution of students within the state is scarcely 
less impressive. Fifty-seven, or nearly 92 per cent, of the sixty-two 
counties are represented by 1049 students.® It needs to be remem- 
bered that in 1861 the Albany Normal School, as it was then called, 
was the only other public institution in the state for the professional 

6 According to the alumni records twenty-seven other students were from New York State 
but their residences as given could not be located by counties. Appendix VIII gives the residence 


distribution of Oswego graduates by counties within New York. Appendix IX gives the residence 
distribution of Oswego graduates from New York State by cities and villages. 


22 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


preparation of teachers. The proportion of students from the city 
of Oswego did not increase as time passed; in fact, in actual numbers 
there were six fewer students from the city of Oswego the last 
five years of the first quarter century than there were the first 
five years. That fact coupled with the fact that the number of 
students from without the state remained fairly constant during 
the entire twenty-five-year period suggests that the development 
of new normal schools in New York did not affect the influence 
exerted by Oswego within the state from the beginning of its history. 
The state residence distribution of 1049 graduates by counties 
upon date of entrance is clearly shown by Figure 11—and their 
actual residences, including the frequency distribution, is given 
by counties in Appendix VIII. 

Table C indicates from another viewpoint the influence of the 
Oswego school. The table shows the number of states outside of 
New York State represented by Oswego graduates from year to 
year. It also shows this outside representation in terms of the 
numbers of Oswego graduates annually and the actual number of 
different communities from which these same graduates came. The 
number of states represented, the number of Oswego graduates 
from these states, and the number of different communities re- 
presented do not vary significantly throughout the entire period. 
This tends to confirm the point made earlier that the Oswego 
influence expressed in terms of the numbers and residences of 
Oswego graduates outside of New York was a relatively constant 
factor.: The table shows four other studies;—(1) the number of 
Oswego graduates by years whose residences at entrance were in 
New York State, (2) the number of Oswego graduates by years 
whose residences at time of entrance were in the city of Oswego, 
(3) the total number of Oswego graduates by years, and (4) the 
percentage by years which the Oswego resident graduates were of 
the total number graduated. Due allowance must be made for 
the variation in percentages by years because of the small numbers 
involved. In expressing the ratio between graduates who were 
residents of Oswego and the whole number of graduates, one should 
perhaps use the percentage obtained from the totals of the two 
columns of data related to the point in question. The computa- 
tion shows this to be 72.5%. This figure may be interpreted as a 
rough index of the educational importance of the institution outside 
the city Oswego, chiefly for whose needs it was originally established. 


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24 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


TABLE C 


Residence Study of Oswego Graduates for Years 1861 to 1886 outside of New 
York State and outside of Oswego City. Showing by years the number of Oswego 
graduates according to the following points: (1) the number of states represented 
outside of New York State, (2) the number of Oswego graduates from each state 
represented, (3) the number of cities represented by these graduates, (4) the 
number of Oswego graduates from New York State, (5) the total number of 
Oswego graduates, (6) the number of Oswego graduates who were residents of 
the city of Oswego, and (7) the percentage of Oswego graduates not residents 
of Oswego. 


Total Number of | Percentage 
Number | Graduates | of Graduates 
of Grad- | Residents | not Residents: 


Number | Number | Number | New York 
Date of of of State 
States! |Graduates!} Cities! Graduates 




















uates of Oswego | of Oswego 
1862 I 2 2 37 39 26 are 
1863 4 7 7 16 23 12 43.4 
1864 I I I 10 II 8 Zia 
1865 Be 5 5 25 30 20 33-3 
1866 2 2 2 27 29 10 65.5 
1867 2. 2 2 56 58 25 56.9 
1868 3 5 5 46 51 ‘s 86.2 
1869 4 ’ 6 65 . 72 10 86.1 
1870 6 8 7 47 55 II 80.0 
1871 ‘ij 8 8 41 49 2 95-9 
1872 ye II 10 53 64 I2 81.2 
1873 10 19 17 47 66 19 Fie 
1874 6 10 8 27 37 6 83.7 
1875 4 ree 5 51 57 19 66.6 
1876 4 8 fi 45 53 17 67.9 
1877 hs z 7 55 62 18 70.9 
1878 4 7 7 47 54 16 79.3 
1879 6 II 10 40 51 18 64.7 
1880 7 10 9 49 59 16 72.8 
1881 4 4 4 58 62 20 67.7 
1882 5 5 5 35 40 6 85.0 
1883 5* 6 6 45 51 4 92.1 
1884 6* 8 8 43 51 14 72.5 
1885 6 10 10 62 re. 26 63.9 
1886 6 6 6 AL Fors. 55 12 78.1 





1New York State excluded. *One from Canada. **One from Japan. 


It has been possible to secure from the alumni records preserved 
by the school, age data for 1173 graduates. The ages given are 
those at entrance. Since practically all of the entering students 
remained without interruption until graduation the entrance age: 


Description 25 


may be used as a fair index of the maturity of the student group. 
Table D gives the median ages by years. 


TABLE D 


Showing the Median Ages in Years at Date of Entrance for Given Numbers of 
Graduates of the Classes from 1865-1886 in the Oswego State Normal and Train- 
ing School. 


Date No. of Median Entrance 
Graduates Ages in Years 
Bea Meigs Hl wit a 55 23 18.91 
POO aaa W6 33 20.37 
RO ees eo his xtces 50 20.00 
‘ip on Fg LOR a a aa 49 21.15 
So) aie aS a ee ee 73 20.75 
Reet wy cee 4 es 55 21.70 
UP el Rat Ge aera a i 46 21.25 
Pieri. ene rie feeb 65 19.75 
CPR ch wie os ti bla 64 19.80 
Pot: Ca, A a ma 37 19.50 
TRG res. ae thiaie 57 18.81 
Deh ns Rees 48 21.00 
OE ¢ RE a aN Bi adi 61 19.70 
Dae ee lira Ny oenounue eles 73 18.72 
Rae Po ph! Srstctbea see 53 19.70 
Ree oy dea ee 59 18.58 
BOK Wass oe ee otis 58 18.50 
eRe es. din Aus hohe 41 18.75 
DEAE nS 52 19.62 
RR ee tn a wn Oo 49 19.10 
DMEM he eS he oe 3 70 18.82 
1 cel elena eter a elmore eae 57 19.37 


That range of these medians from 18.5 years to 21.7 years is of 
little significance except when used in observing the tendency ex- 
pressed in Figure III. This graph shows a gradual trend toward 
less mature groups of entering students. The explanation of this 
tendency may be found in the theory that as the demand for Oswego 
graduates became more widely recognized there was an increasingly 
larger number who went for their preparatory work in teaching 
without waiting for practical experience. In a statistical report of 
the school by Mr. Sheldon, covering its history to January 31, 
1877, it was stated that the number of students who had taught 
before entering the normal school was 1,014, or 53.4% of the whole 
number registered, each having taught onan average, three years. 


26 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


This may account in part for the maturity of the students during 
the early history of the school. 

In Table E the range of ages at date of entrance is given for the 
1173 cases studied. The fact that the extremely young student 
could enter is explained by the admission requirements which pre- 
vailed during the twenty-five-year period. Admission was in the 
main, dependent upon an entrance examination in spite of the fact 
that the training school was originally planned to prepare Oswego 
high school graduates to teach in Oswego. 


TABLE E 
Showing Distribution of 1173 Oswego Normal Graduates by Ages at Date of 
Entrance. The Median Age is 19.65 Years. The Period Studied is from 
1861-1886. 


Age at Entrance Frequency 
Be aig © ig lity ve om, (alia habia des ngs R’ wthe ny ea aie lle Ta 3 
TB eis ete ve, bars oa he, Oat ie tes ie 21 
TO ss bp # peste veal Sid a eR we ae ee 158 
Gs wh of we ato tse api on ote tS oipieee g oebeta’ ya arpa tat Sin 169 
TY oie a dE Selphy ata’ Benson hip NP hata sc oe 167 
EQS D iiafeiik Ri &, bine, 2-09 Wiens aie ge AER a a ERE ee 105 
DO ain FAL Na ok pitch Vela LER weeny be 2 ata er 102 
AUN se gina puke th.s wheat AMtee Dict diiete Gene 102 
See ee Ok idl baa Man ew te ney deg hh ROA re I 83 
23 e ehidtia'y BANG 5 eek lh be lalaie) aiain eka Reo alts el -@n e e 54 
SPL | a: hn pick pee ha alte gS eye. ee a nT Re nate a 50 
DEE cin! A io tisathstth lei be lelminhatn a cerlhd ERG, We x Part tt ya are en 42 
BON se ahy Bs gl b's aes die res ve ae 27 
TY ei intitle te os oth sie eth nue > asta whe ees ga 19 
QB lative ew ogee a My cccialy fe ie Oe 12 
BO sre Melle ah Wm Bligh wreath, Glee hay pee uate eae 17 
BO 12: Liha dob sak Pes ort PR ee ee I2 
BE iy scales eal g mirada did = et wip tkaaha cape acoeelch dae oo nt am 4 
Be eis Ci te eal love ha aon ero RU eee ef 7 
BG) + ele eee duals diaacd Mey viene oan is anne eS ac 7 
iy SPENCE MERU y WI 4 
kh, ee en COPE METAP each i GI ef 3 
BO ss vyela gs seceded wine le OR OIR Ree Oe ee 5 
CY ee oe ee errs crea Mu to fe) 
BS i bide eek kine Sip gh die Ov Weil olas Lvl ae ea I 
BQ bk ehle vie e's Bn wie ara ala ee sve) an eee I 
If Sip yada h Koatccn id wh ecnbbe ha Sci CRU 0 oa Eas oa I 
AB AD LW otis Wintastclk eGR Se lose hte tase eee 6 ae eee I 
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28 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


The median age of this group at entrance was 19.65 years. It 
was assumed by Kriisi in 1886 that the average age of the Oswego 
students was much higher than it was in other schools of the same 
grade.’ No data are available which enable a comparison to be 
made of age-entrance conditions existing from 1861-1886, but 
recent studies show that the median age at date of entrance now is 
lower than it was for Oswego for the years studied. 

In a study of the state normal schools of Louisiana by a survey 
commission composed of W. C. Bagley, Thomas Alexander, and 
John M. Foote, the following figures were compiled: 


DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS AS TO AGE AT NEAREST 


BIRTHDAY 
Number of Median 
Cases Age 
INSTONTCOCHES. | Cis: Yet oat horas et 832 18.86 
Lata yetier ease see ite VES oe ey 302 18.76 
BRAIDS CORN S (sows Ielpeoicn ae, oes) Ae eR eee ee 472 19.35 


Most of these were enrolled in the first and second years of the 
collegiate level courses. In this same table the median ages of 
Michigan and Massachusetts State Normal School Students were 
used comparatively. They were respectively 18.91 years and 18.54 
years. Making due allowance for these medians and those at time 
of entrance, it seems quite reasonable to conclude that the Oswego 
students during the period studied, whose median age at time of 
entrance was 19.65 years, were in general a more mature group of 
students than is at present true of normal school students’ in the 
states cited. 

Women students greatly outnumbered the men. This condition 
is mentioned in a letter written by Dr. Sheldon (February 6, 1877) 
in which he accounts for the difference in numbers by calling atten- 
tion to the fact that in the public schools of the State there were 
‘‘more than three times as many lady teachers . . . . as men.” 
In Table F the exact numbers of men and women graduates are 
given by years and by courses. For the entire period the ratio of 
men to women is approximately one to ten for all three courses 
combined. Nearly a third more men were graduated from the 

7 “History of the Normal School,’ a paper read by Herman Kriisi at the Quarter-Centennial 
Celebration, from the First Quarter Century Report 1886, p. 54. 


8 Report published by Commissioner T. H. Harris, of the State Department of Education. of 
Louisiana, 1925. ° 


Description 29 


advanced course than from both of the others. The ratio of men 
to women in the elementary course was about one to forty; in the 
Advanced English course, one to three and a half; and in the Classi- 
cal course, one to one and one-half. The number of men from year 
to year does not vary enough to mark any distinct trend. Only 
three men were graduated before the close of :the Civil War, one 
of whom was Dr. Sheldon himself who was a member of Miss 
Jones’ classes while performing the duties of city superintendent 
of schools. 

The fact that so few men were enrolled in the Elementary English 
course is explained by the nature of the work—chiefly preparation 
for teaching in the primary grades which was considered essen- 
tially a woman’s work. The Advanced English course did not 
enlist any considerable number of men for the same reason. The 
ratios are misleading unless notice is taken of the actual numbers 
of the two groups. The Classical course attracted more men pro- 
portionately probably because it offered work which was similar 
to the secondary level of the academies which was preparatory to 
college and collegiate professional study. Lack of sufficient data 
regarding the post graduate records of individual men, prevents a 
definite conclusion regarding the larger proportion of men in the 
Classical course. 

The total number of graduations including the classes graduated 
in 1886 was 1373. Of this number 956 were graduated from the 
Elementary English, 336 from the Advanced English, and 81 
from the Classical course. These differences may be explained in 
several ways. First, the greatest demand for teachers was in the 
elementary schools. The public high school movement did not 
gather its full strength in this country until the latter half of the 
nineteenth century. The academies offered the chief opportunities 
for secondary education and these institutions were not public 
tax-supported institutions aided by compulsory school attendance 
laws. A second reason for the larger number of graduates from the 
Elementary course may be found in the length of the three different 
courses: two, three, and four years respectively for the Elementary, 
the Advanced English, and the Classical. This argument is further 
strengthened by the fact that the first year’s work was the same 
for all three courses. A third explanation may be found in the fact 
that Mr. Sheldon wanted a professional and not an academic train- 


9 These courses are described in detail in a later section of the study. 


30 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


TABLE F 


Showing Number of Men and Women Graduated from the Oswego State 
Normal and Training School from 1862-1886. Data Arranged for Both Sexes 
by Years and by Courses Together with Totals. 


Elementary Advanced Classical Total 
Date English Course English Course Course Total Total Grad- 
Men Women Total |Men Women Total | Men Women Total} Men Women uates 


TRO2 oid Vola bk ila 3 4 f£:3O. 4939 


TEORs, 22 aes 23 23 
LSG4. v5: 8 OO Py II II 
136057... aL List 3I 3I 
1866.49. P28 Haas I 28 29 
LSO7 2 5). 52 52 ae & hae I 65 66 
1868.... Di 33 ela 2A PRE Ne: I 2 3 47 54 
1869.... Rai ead 1 AI Op Si ie | 12 69) °BE 
Lea 20) 2G a wine e 2 I 3 10 54 64 
Tovrea SAO wT ae ad iS agra | I 3 4 9 59 68 
ee oe BA 48 48 a WAR2 VIE SA 4 4 8 6 74 80 
Oa sc eee 45 45 Sir wx, pao I I 2 4 65 69 
1874.... 24) 24 0 ine Mie #8 I I 39 39 
TOs ay 20° 20 Aico 2 3 5 6 53 59 
1S 7D, 7% a2) 42 2 Ones I I 2 3 52 55 
1877. Bee eta ran es, 3.03 lee ae ea | 
1878. P60 7 6 Olea ers 2 2 9 72 8I 
1879 2 32 34 Di Veet its 3 2 7 8 45 oe 
1880. 2) AS iSO 3 5 8 I 4 5 6 57 63 
1881. 1 aa Lag pr Eo ne | I 4 5 2 62 65 
1682.5)": A) Bees he Gi I 5 6 2 4 7 6 38 44 
1633... a5 20 5 ieee! 14 4 4 3 53 56 
1884.... S333 5 ight I 3. Ga 6S aE 
1835 .'<5. 2 A TZiE AG 5: Chests 2 5 7 9 63 72 
1886 Ly ok Ton 3 NEZ BES 3.4 ooh ee 7°} 49 Gee 


Total 23 933 956 72) eee AG 33 48 81.) 128 Seaee eae 


ing for teachers. The Classical course was less in accordance with 
this emphasis for which he had stood from the founding of the 
institution. 

Of the 1373 graduates there were eighty-nine (eighty-one women 
and eight men) who received diplomas from two courses making 
the actual number of individual students graduated 1284. There 
are no records available covering the entire twenty-five years 


Description 31 


which show the ratio between the total number graduated and the 
total number of students enrolled. A statistical report giving data 
regarding various matters from the beginning of the school’s history 
to January 3Ist, 1877 was made by Dr. Sheldon, and published in 
one of the local newspapers.'!° In this report it was stated that 
719, or 38%, had been graduated of a total of 1896 registered. There 
is no conclusive evidence to explain this condition. Three theories 
may be advanced: (1) that many were offered attractive teaching 
positions at the end of the first year of study due to the great 
demand for Oswego trained teachers, (2) that high professional 
standards may have accounted in part for the failure of a large 
number to graduate, and (3) that miscellaneous causes, such as 
death, marriage, financial burdens, etc., probably operated to 
reduce the percentage. 

From this report of 1877 other interesting data are found. At 
that time 98.5% of the graduates were still in the profession ex- 
clusive of the class graduated January 30, 1877, those who left the 
profession on account of marriage, and the deceased. Women 
graduates received salaries ranging from $350 to $2,000 with an 
average of $584.14; men graduates were paid from $600 to $2500 
with an average of $1,165.10. 

Table G shows the average salaries paid to men and to women in 
twenty-three states and territories during the school years 1875-76 
and 1876-77.!%. According to this comparison Oswego men gradu- 
ates were paid on an average over two and a half times as much 
as the average salary of school men in various types of positions, 
and Oswego women graduates over twice the average school salary 
for women. In New York State the average annual salary for both 
men and women was, according to this same report, $411.83 in 
1875-76 and $401.04 in 1876-77. The difference is again markedly 
in favor of Oswego graduates. 


B. STUDENT LIFE AT OSWEGO (SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL) 


In 1865 the Oswego Board of Education acquired a home for the 
new Normal School. Hotel property was bought, enlarged, and 
remodeled at a total cost of $26,000 and soon after the work of 
training teachers was transferred from the city’s public school 


10 The Oswego Daily Palladium, February 13, 1877. 
10a Table derived from data in Report of the Bureau of Education for the years indicated. 


32 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


TABLE G 


Showing Average Salaries for Both Men and Women for Twenty-Three States 
and Territories for the School Years 1875-76 and 1876-77. 


Average Annual Salaries 


States Men Women Men Women 
1875-76 1876-77 

Seibor nate Wie sn Shon elas 611.15 490.00 608.24 505.88 
Colorado ssc wk Re a ek eee 300.00 240.00 

GAPE Keys Sala cege Meet etna atts a aaa eX 360.66 250.42 

TAA wi. a ee ek chain! 407.64 267.03 392.13 250.88 
LOW ce eee eick eu eae 254.86 I91.57 253.58 208.58 
FRAN SAS T RCRMIA Th ei ee ea 174.02 139.75 179.23. 161.63 
PAUSINI ds a 150.35 150.35 303.75 236.25 
PVLAING. 2 ieeaaees utah ietoe hy tae ale 217.17 108.40 201.38 106.29 
ISSear liters out waaes nea uetcat 746.06 310.25 719.43 299.25 
VIRERGUTI AG ices vata ad ae ne ete 188.10 146.02 

PREDTASKA ii antics ere ce ee 177.90 157.30 225.17 201.93 
INEVACAY De Siac es wenecos See aE 867.25 656.04 
Dewi Lianpebiren 2c. at eh 196.23 120.37 176.1241 3gi42 
Newalersey yy. otieecctkes das’ sabia 637.63 358.94 586.78 340.77 
New Work 0). aaah sues 411.83* 401.04* 
PeNNeViVahia. cee oe bee aaa 298.20 252.00 278.48 240.64 
MhOde | slatd?.22 xa aeee ae eee 733A (830/57 730.24 415.49 
Mermort bd Te eae eee, ees 224.93 135.78 210.08 131.76 
VAATA i De ho oa ee 197.47 171.59 185.36 153.27 
BPIFONS. oo aul Oe eer aia Bag Dee 950.00 475.00 
District of Columbia fain o..ceeee 1,146.00 764.00 904.00 669.37 
PRGA cok vin MERE ee oe 386.10 185.90 328.50 164.25 
WASINgTON 1.) ctownre ener fy gots ne 260.00 195.00 
Averages...... Reed SEE Pane 389.88 262.64 439.98 290.69 


*Men and women. 


buildings to this new location.! Until this time the students had 
lived in private homes and had carried on their professional activi- 
ties in various schools of the city, but with the occupancy of the 
new quarters there is some evidence that the institutional character 
of the school assumed tangible proportions due to the group life 
thus effected. The student organizations date their origin from 


ul “*History of the Normal School,’”’ a paper read by Herman Kriisi at the Quarter-Centennial 
Celebration in 1886. 


Description aires 


1866. In the fall of that year the Avalonian Society was organized. 
The name has its direct connection with the legends of King Arthur 
and its literary connotation is supported by the declared purposes 
of the society, viz., the promotion of intellectual and social growth 
in its membership. The society held its meetings twice a month, 
and its programs were characterized by music, charades, essays, 
recitations, declamations, debates, etc. The organization was 
purely a student group, memberships being optional; there was 
no direct faculty supervision. In the spring of 1879 the Avalonian 
Society was succeeded by the Athenean Society which was still 
in existence at the end of the first twenty-five year period of the 
school’s history The reorganization effected only one radical change 
in policy—instead of the subjects of study changing from one meet- 
ing to another there was a choice made, usually of two topics, 
at the beginning of each term. This greater unification of study, 
they maintained, resulted in greater rhetorical growth and better 
literary direction, and in the acquisition of more valuable informa- 
tion.” 

About the same time (February 4, 1879) the Adelphi Society 
was formed with an initial membership of fifty-five. Its purposes 
were not unlike those of its rival sister organization. Greater skill 
in literary work, greater ease in speaking before an audience, and 
wider literary culture constituted their main objectives. In the 
case of this Society as in that of the Athenean Society, membership 
was optional. Weekly meetings were held and public entertain- 
ments also were given.” 

That the work of these two literary societies was considered 
important is supported by the history of the Keystone Society. 
As was not the case of the Athenean and the Adelphi Societies, 
members of the faculty definitely supervised the activities of this 
new organization which came into being at the time of the re- 
organization of the Avalonian Society. All entering students were 
members of the Keystone Society during the first year of their work 
and the activities of this organization served as a preparatory pro- 
cess for membership in the other two societies. Public entertain- 
ments were given under its auspices and the proceeds used to meet 
some educational, social, or aesthetic need of the school.” 

12 ‘History of the Athenean and Avalonian Societies,’’ from the First Quarter Century Report, 
p. 127. 


18 ‘A Brief History of the Adelphi Society,’”’ from the First Quarler Century Report, p. 128. 
14 “The Keystone Society,’”’ from the First Quarler Century Report, pp. 128, 129. 


34 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


The emphasis in educational procedure upon the importance 
of religious teaching was not limited to pedagogical speculations; 
it assumed real proportions in the Oswego State Normal and Train- 
ing School under the stimulus of the philosophy of the faculty 
members, especially that of Mr. Sheldon. In 1869 he invited some 
students to meet him in his office on Saturday evenings to hold 
prayer services. The numbers attending became so great that 
larger quarters were found. Mr. Sheldon urged that the leadership 
of these meetings be assumed by the student body and the fact 
that as a student activity these religious gatherings persisted and 
flourished for over ten years is ample evidence that moral and 
religious education objectives formulated by Pestalozzi and accepted 
by the adherents of his principles were reflected in the Oswego 
Movement. The devotional meetings led to the organization in 
1881 of the Normal Christian Association which enrolled one hun- 
dred seventy-two members the first year. The religious fervor and 
evangelical spirit of the meetings are expressed in the reports of 
the secretary of the organization in the following quotations:—“We 
have celebrated our first anniversary. In reviewing the work of 
the past year we have realized more than ever before the utility 
of organization, and feel that ‘all things work for good to them that 
love God,’’’ and ‘“‘A number have confessed their faith in Christ, 
and all feel they have been greatly blest.’’! 

These three literary societies and the religious groups represent 
the organized social and professional activities arising and persisting 
primarily as the result of student activity. They typify the earnest- 
ness of the student group and also reflect the policy of the school 
administration which was ever to encourage independent, responsible 
participation in the affairs of student life to the end that independ- 
ence of action and appreciation of the higher qualities of life might 
influence the individual student’s behavior in his years of maturity 
and future service. 

There is little recorded regarding the social activities enjoyed 
by the Oswego students. Occasionally one finds in the correspond- 
ence of alumni, a brief reference to the pleasures of student life in 
the Welland, a residence hall for women students. This building 
was used for dormitory purposes for over twenty years after the 
period in which this study is primarily interested. It did not pro- 


16 ‘‘ History of the Normal School Prayer Meeting and Christian Association,” from the First 
Quarter Century Report, p. 129-130. 


Description 35 


vide accommodations for the entire group and, consequently, the 
students in some instances found room and board in private homes 
throughout the city. Members of the faculty who know the early 
history of the school, often relate the social enjoyment obtained 
through snow-shoe parties, sleigh rides, skating parties, and excur- 
sions within the easy reach of Oswego. The eventful history of 
Oswego and its immediate environment, made such excursions of 
great educational value. These excursions also provided social 
diversion and physical recreation. Other stories are told of the 
spring ‘‘sugar parties”’ in the maple grove at Shady Shore, the home 
of Dr. Sheldon. His home was always open to his students and 
many a tender memory was formed of the pleasurable time spent 
at his fireside and on the lake front at Shady Shore. The delightful 
spirit of Dr. Sheldon’s home, extended to the student body, was 
but another means of expressing his philosophy of life and was truly 
Pestalozzian. To let education proceed in an atmosphere of 
domesticity was a declared principle of Dr. Sheldon and of the 
famous Swiss schoolmaster whose educational theories inspired 
fim.7° | 
C. THE STAFF OF INSTRUCTORS 


During the first quarter-century the Oswego State Normal and 
Training School had sixty-six different instructors, forty-seven 
women and nineteen men. Of this number the brief biographies 
contained in the Furst Quarter Century Report, furnish data of a 
limited kind for fifty-eight.17 Only twelve had had college educa- 
tion before becoming members of the Oswego faculty; eight had 
been trained in other normal schools; thirty-four had attended or 
been graduated from high schools, academies or special institutes, 
eight of whom were graduates of the Oswego High School; two had 
carried on extensive study in private, and thirty-nine (67.2% of 
the fifty-eight) had studied at the Oswego Normal and Training 
School, all but two of whom were graduates. Of these thirty-nine, 
there were eight who were also graduates of the local high school 

16 Tt should be noted that the social and professional life of the school endured long beyond 
graduation time in the form of the Normal Alumni Association. This organization was formed 
in 1865 and held meetings every year or two throughout the first quarter-century period. The 


organization is still very active. During this early period great stress was placed upon the pro- 


fessional character of the programs and upon leaving to the school some token of their esteem and 
affection. 


17 Appendix X, contains a list of these fifty-eight faculty members giving ages at date of 
appointment, scholastic and professional training, previous experience, and professional duties 
at Oswego. 


36 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


and seventeen had studied elsewhere in an academy, institute, or 
college. Practically three-fourths (74.1%) had had teaching ex- 
perience prior to their appointment. Fifteen had been appointed 
immediately upon graduation from the local institution. Data 
regarding the age at time of appointment are available for twenty- 
eight. Of this group the median beginning age was 24.5 years. 
Twenty-three of these teachers taught after their service at Oswego 
in other places. They were in great demand in other normal schools 
and in city training schools, eighteen of them serving in institutions 
of this type. 

It is quite clear that Dr. Sheldon selected his teachers for their 
ability to advance the principles of education which are based upon 
Pestalozzianism. Training for this could be obtained in relatively 
few places, hence a large number were taken from those among his 
own graduates who possessed the proper qualifications. The small 
number of college-trained people is not surprising in view of the 
fact that professional training for teachers scarcely existed in the 
colleges of this country at that time. 

An examination of their professional duties reveals the fact that 
the duties of the Training School were in the main kept quite apart 
from those of the Normal School. This separation did not keep the 
two groups apart in their professional aims, but presents a striking 
contrast to present conditions at Oswego in which all but two 
faculty members have assigned duties in the Practice School and 
all of those directly responsible for the work of the Practice School 
have one or more classes with the regular normal school students. 
Another observation which may be made regarding the duties of 
the teachers in the Oswego school is that the teachers of one de- 
partment seldom had teaching assignments in the special field of 
another department. This arrangement was important because 
it provided for the teachers an opportunity to concentrate their 
efforts in one specialized field. A high degree of scholarship and 
highly developed techniques could be expected as a result of this 
specialization. 


D.  ‘PHE PRACTICE ScHOon 


It had been customary before the Training School was founded 
for the teachers to meet Mr. Sheldon on Saturdays, to discuss class- 
room problems and administrative details. This procedure was 
supplemented by a professional emphasis upon the work of the 


Description 37 


last year of the high school curriculum. For example, those who 
planned to teach formed a group known as the teachers’ class and 
spent a portion of their time in model class exercises in the primary 
and junior departments in the same building, and also received 
special instruction in the theory and practice of teaching. Three 
serious objections developed regarding this plan: (1) the schedule 
of work in this direction was so exacting and time-consuming that 
no time nor energy was left for other studies; (2) the results of the 
work were seriously limited because with the model class exercises 
there was a great need for a teacher of successful experience, possess- 
ing rare judgment and powers of discrimination, who was pro- 
fessionably able to criticise closely, point out defects, and suggest 
or demonstrate remedial measures; and (3) the introduction of the 
new methods in 1860, placed an additional burden upon the regular 
primary teachers in mastering the new system of instruction, and 
hence the regular classroom teachers were even less able than form- 
erly to instruct graduates of the high school, without any experi- 
ence, who in turn were as a consequence far less likley to succeed 
as regular teachers upon the completion of their preparatory work. 

To obviate all these difficulties and at the same time to retain 
the value of the model-school department as originally conceived, it 
was proposed in formal resolutions by the Committee on Teachers of 
the Oswego Board of Education to organize a department composed 
of Oswego high-school graduates and persons from outside the 
city of Oswego, which might be called the Model Primary School 
Teachers’ Department, the object being “‘to prepare teachers for 
the important work of primary tnstruction.’’® The resolutions 
carried the following detailed suggestions concerning the subjects 
of study: 


First Term—A review of botany, mental philosophy, zoology, and linear draw- 
ing in its practical application, in delineating objects in nature on the blackboard. 

Second Term—Mineralogy and review of botany continued, and moral 
philosophy begun. Linear drawing as last term. 

Third Term—Moral philosophy and mineralogy continued. Drawing as 
before. There shall be a course in reading, to be continued through the year. 


In this same annual report Mr. Sheldon stated that pupils were 
expected to spend one year in observation and practice in this 
school, a half day to be used in this way and the rest of the time in 


18 Kighth Annual Report of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego for the year ending 
March 31, 1861, p. 29. 


38 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


the study of natural history and mental science of immediate 
importance in the new system of instruction. He also announced 
the appointment of Miss Jones, from the Home and Colonial 
Infant Society. This marked the beginning of the Training 
Class. . 

In the Ninth Annual Report (1862), reference is made to the 
successful introduction of Pestalozzianism into the Oswego schools 
by Miss Jones and the announcement is made that she had con- 
sented to remain a few months longer and that then the work would 
be under the immediate supervision of Mr. Sheldon with Professor 
Herman Kriisi assisting him. During this initial year the instruc- 
tion in theory and methods was given threée‘days each week after 
3:30, the regular closing hour, in two lessons of an hour each. One 
afternoon each week was spent in the criticism of lessons given by 
members of the Training Class. Every Friday afternoon was  de- 
voted to arranging the work of those engaged in the practice 
school. 

The Practice School at that time (1862) consisted of the three 
regular primary grades making up a primary department and 
occupied five rooms. In each of four rooms were two divisions, 
while in the fifth, a recitation room, there was but one division. 
In three of the rooms were three permanent teachers assisted by 
members of the Training Class, while in the other two, after the 
first few weeks, the teaching was entirely done by members of this 
class. The initial teaching was limited to reading and number 
but as skill in methods developed, the student teachers practiced in 
the various object lesson exercises. They observed and practiced 
alternately, a fortnight each, going from one grade to another, 
closing each round by taking charge of the main room in which 
there was no principal teacher. The work was constantly super- 
vised by the principal of the department and an examination given 
at the end of the year. The examinations can be best described 
by reproducing samples of the type of questions given in the various 
subjects of professional study. 


‘‘ Method. State what materials, apparatus, etc., you would require in your 
own school for teaching Natural History, Plants, and Minerals, Objects and 
Number. 

“School Arrangements. Give an account of the organization of the C and 
A classes. a. The number and average ages of the children. 6. The daily time 
tables. c. The work done by the principal. d. The work done by assistant 
teachers. 


Description 39 


Training and Development. Define the terms Perception, Observation, Memory, 
Conception, Concept, Imagination, Reason, Generalization, Analogy, Judgment. 

Each member of the Training Class had to give a lesson in the 
Practice School as a part of this final examination.” 

In 1865 a junior department was added to the Practice School 
and not until 1880 was there developed in this connection a senior 
department. It may be recalled that the work of the schools 
below the high school was divided into three departments—primary, 
junior, and senior, each three years in length. The high school 
course also was three years in length. In 1885 the kindergarten 
was attached to the Practice School, thus providing opportuni- 
ties for an unbroken line of work from the home to the high school. 

In 1886 the Practice School had developed in numbers to four 
hundred fifty pupils. These classes occupied nineteen classrooms, 
well arranged and equipped. Classroom cabinets were provided 
which contained many valuable specimens from nature’s plenty, 
collected through the efforts of the instructors and donated by 
loyal alumni. 

The Practice School library contained juvenile literature and 
reference books. These were obtained chiefly through the efforts 
of the children in giving literary entertainments. 

One of the principles governing the relation of the Practice School 
to the other work of the institution was that the interests of the 
student-teachers were best served when the highest good of the 
children of the Practice School was sought. Consequently, great 
emphasis was placed upon the educational progress of these pupils 
and a great amount of dependence was placed upon the regular 
teachers of the Practice School. The period of apprenticeship 
for student-teachers was twenty weeks in length, ten in the primary 
department and ten in either the junior or the senior department. 
Criticism was conducted in various ways: (1) private and individual; 
(2) general and specific suggestions for all teachers of a given sub- 
ject; (3) special lessons for training in criticism; (4) general dis- 
cussion on problems of method and administration; and (5) dis- 
cussion of current educational literature as related to teaching 
problems. The critic teachers, supervisors, and principals of the 
various departments were unsparing in their criticism and student 
criticism also was encouraged. 


192A ppendix XI consists of the sketch of a lesson given by,a member of the Training Class on 
examination. 


40 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


It was the aim of the Oswego school authorities to make the - 
Practice School ‘‘the best in the world”’ as it was the laboratory 
in which the work of the students was done to fit them for their 
later work as public school teachers. To this end Oswego held 
to the principle that the Practice School should lead not follow, 
in classroom procedure and that methods should first proceed from 
the classes of the Practice School to the Methods classes, and not 
in the opposite direction.” 

The views held by Dr. Sheldon regarding the Practice School 
and its relation to the professional preparation may be summarized: 
in these points: 


1. Student teachers must have a most thorough preparation. 

a. They must have an exhaustive knowledge of the subjects to 
be taught. 

b. They must have a knowledge of children and know how to 
study them. 

c. They must have aclear understanding of the use to be made 
of the means to be employed in the training of children. 
This implies a knowledge of educational principles and their 
application in teaching. 


2. Model teaching should be used in demonstrating all educa- 
tional theories. 

3. Only mature students should be admitted to the school of 
practice as pupil-teachers. 

4. Assuming maturity on the part of teachers, the time given to 
professional (theoretical and practical) training should be not less 
than one year. 

5. Observation by the student-teacher should always precede 
responsible room-teaching. 

6. The student-teacher should assume as much responsibility 
as will be expected of him when given a regular appointment after 
graduation. To organize, control, and instruct with complete free- 
dom is essential. 

2 The account of the Practice School was taken from the following sources:— 

a. The Annual Reports of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego, by E. A. Sheldon. 

b. ‘‘Report by Sarah J. Walter of the School of Practice’’ in the First Quarter Century Report, 
mi An article written by E. A. Sheldon printed in the Proceedings of the National Education 
Association, 1896, pp. 387-391. 

d. An article by Mary R. Alling, New England Journal of Education, Vol. XI, No. 3. 


e. A report of Troy (N. Y.) visiting teachers’ committee. Troy Daily Times, May 8, 
1862. 


Description 41 


7. The student-teacher should be provided with the most com- 
petent critic obtainable. It is the business of the critic (a) to super- 
vise and direct, (0) to give illustrative lessons when necessary, (c) 
to discover the commendable traits of the student-teacher and 
give him all possible encouragement, (d) later, and always prefaced 
by something commendable, to bring to the attention of the stu- 
dent-teacher his faults, one at a time in the order of their importance, 
and not to allude to a fault after the student-teacher becomes 
conscious of it, and (e) to be as unobtrusive as ‘possible (in fact, 
the constant presence of the critic is not desirable). 

8. A practice school cannot be a model school. A model or 
demonstration school should be maintained in connection with the 
school of practice. 

g. Actual public school conditions should prevail in the Practice 
School. Tuition fees which result in a selected group should not 
be permitted. 

10. For a normal school of four hundred students (Mr. Sheldon 
thought there should be no more), there should be an equal number 
of pupils in the Practice School. 

11. The Practice School should contain all grades below the high 
school (Mr. Sheldon believed that the colleges and universities 
should furnish the necessary scholastic and professional preparation 
for high school teachers). 

12. The Practice School should perform all the functions of, 
and be equal to, the best organized public schools. 


CHAPTER III 


THE CHARACTERISTICS OF OBJECT TEACHING 


A detailed account of object teaching as it was conducted in the 
English Home and Colonial Infant Society’s Schools and in the 
Oswego schools, is included to clarify references made in the preced- 
ing chapters to object teaching, and to show how completely Oswego 
adopted the English interpretation. of Pestalozzi’s educational 
principles. In reading this account it will be evident that not only 
did Oswego parallel the English practices in object teaching, but 
that the professional study prescribed for students in the two train- 
ing institutions, was very similar in that great emphasis in both 
cases was placed upon courses of educational theory, school man- 
agement, teachers’ qualifications, and the like. Whether the adap- 
tations, as here described, of Pestalozzi’s teaching were made as a 
result of true interpretations of his principles, is not the office of 
this thesis. A description of the methods used by both English 
and Americans under the term, “object teaching,” with some 
critical evaluation of the Oswego practices in terms of present 
knowledge, are the proper functions of this section of the treatise. 


A. Osject TEACHING IN THE ENGLISH HoME AND COLONIAL 
INFANT SOCIETY’s SCHOOLS 


In 1818 Dr. Charles Mayo, an English clergyman and classical 
scholar, in charge of a party of English youths seeking education,! 
visited Yverdon in the Pays de Vaud and was prevailed upon to 
spend some hours in the school of Pestalozzi. The first class he 
observed, even though conducted in a language which Dr. Mayo 
did not understand, so impressed him with the intelligence and 
vivacious earnestness of purpose manifested in the pupils, that he 
looked elsewhere in the school for further evidence of this unusual 
combination of qualities. He found the same animation and interest 
everywhere, and concluded that Pestalozzi had discovered a secret 
worth considerable attention. Dr. Mayo’s visit closed at the ex- 
piration of three months, whereupon he returned to his native 

1“A Brief Account of the Home and Colonial Training Institution and of the Pestalozzian 


System as Taught and Practised in Their Schools.” Margaret E. M. Jones in Quarterly Report 
of the Society, January, 1862. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 43 


country and devoted the remainder of his life to inculcating in the 
English schools the principles and practical truths which were so 
largely inspired in him by the genius of the benevolent Pestalozzi.? 

The ‘‘idea of the system”’ of education advocated by Pestalozzi 
and not ‘‘the form’”’ as Dr. Mayo saw it in Yverdon Institution 
appealed to him as practically transferable to meet the needs of 
his own people. Accordingly he established a school at Cheam 
for the education of the higher classes. Dr. Mayo was assisted 
for many years by his sister, who became one of the foremost Eng- 
lish teachers in the advocacy of the Pestalozzian principles.* 


ORIGIN OF THE ‘‘SOCIETY”’ 


In 1836 John Stuckey Reynolds, Esq., who was deeply interested 
in the work of Infant Schools, keenly aware of the lack of good 
teachers and of the need of a better system of education, decided 
to establish a training institution. Mr. Bridges, an eminent 
solicitor, was induced to assist in the enterprise. Each contrib- 
uted one hundred pounds to start the work. Others soon joined 
them in promoting the undertaking; Miss Mayo became responsible 
for the work of the educational department, and facilities were 
obtained to put into practical operation the educational theories 
advocated in the training class through the establishment of schools 
for children. Thus the English Home and Colonial Institution 
came into being.* The Parliament of Great Britain in 1839 created 
a Committee of the Privy Council on Education to provide a more 
extensive and a more efficient system of elementary education. 
In 1846 this Council determined to raise educational standards 
chiefly through inspection of schools. Although the pronounce- 
ments of this body were not mandatory, the Home and Colonial 
Training Institution soon decided to cooperate with the Council 
in the effort to raise educational standards and so became a recipient 
of state financial grants.’ According to an original manuscript® 
of Miss Margaret E. M. Jones (May 1, 1853) only two other Eng- 
lish school societies ever compared to the Home and Colonial In- 
stitution in point of importance and influence: (1) The National 

2 “The Life of Pestalozzi.” A lecture delivered at the Royal Institution, May, 1826. Printed 
for the Home and Colonial School Society, 1856. 

3 Op. cit., in footnote No. 1 by Miss Jones, p. 3f. 

4 Op. cit., in footnote No. 1, by Miss Jones, p. 4. 

5 Tbid., p. 4. 


§ The manuscript was written to refute charges made by Dr. H. B. Wilbur against Pestalozzian- 
ism and the system of the Home and Colonial Schools. 


44 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Society, and (2) the Society of the Borough Road, commonly known 
as the British and Foreign School Society. Miss Jones also main- 
tained that the Home and Colonial Society carried out, more fully 
and perfectly than any other, the views of Pestalozzi.7 


THE ORGANIZATION OF THE “‘SOCIETY’’ 


The Institution had developed until by 1862® it consisted of 
three main divisions: (1) The Model Schools, (2) The Practice 
Schools, and (3) The Training Schools. (See Figure IV.) The 
Model Schools were always open to the public to show the practical 
working of the system, and to the students to indicate the prac- 
ticability of reaching the standards of teaching at which they, — 
themselves, were aiming. | 


The Model Infant Schools 


The Model Schools were three in number. There was the Model 
Infant School in which the pupils were under eight years of age. 
The children of the Infant School were grouped in three sections 
with a graded course of instruction: The Babies’, the Lower, and 
the Upper sections. They were given lessons on Religious and 
Moral subjects, on Colour, Form, Size, Weight, Place, Number, 
Sounds (including the sounds of the letters and practice in singing), 
the Human Body, Animals, Plants, Common Objects, Pictures, the 
first elements of Inventive Drawing, Kindergarten occupations, 
Writing, and Reading. The aim of this work was ‘‘not to communi- 
cate knowledge, but to form good impressions and correct habits; 
to exercise the bodily organs and senses; to lead the children to 
take an interest in all the objects that surround them; to cultivate 
attention, the power of accurate observation, and correct expression; 
and, by storing the mind with ideas suitable to the infantile periods 
of life, to lay the foundation for future progress.”’ 


The Model Juvenile School 


The Model Juvenile School, under a master and mistress and 
pupil-teachers, was composed of pupils from eight to fifteen years 
of age, and sometimes older. This group was also divided into three 

7From the same manuscript cited in No. 6. 

8 It will be observed that the Institution had reached substantially the same development in- 


dicated above at the time the materials were collected which Mr. Sheldon found in the National 
Museum of Toronto in 1859. 






INFANT SOCIETY 






THE ENGLISH) HOME AND COLOW/AL 








THE THE 
MODEL SCHOOLS PRACTICING SCHOOLS 


THREE DIV/S/ONS - 


THE 
TRAINING SCHOOLS 











4FOR GOVERNESSES 
SSTUDENTS UNDER /8 





SUBJECTS OF SUBJECTS OF ie een 


- INSTRUCTION INSTRUCTION SCHOOL SUBJECTS 


/ RELIGIOUS AND 4 CHRISTIAN DOCTRIVES LOBSERVATION'S* OF 
MORAL SUBI/ECTS SACRED HISTORY MOOEL LESSONS AND 
2.COLOYR CLANGUVAGE WRITTEN FEPORTS 
3FORM ZARITHMETIC 2 CHARGE OF CLASSES 
4AS/ZE 4£LEMENTARY IM READING ANDO 
GEOMETRY (80¥S5) 
5. GEOGRAPHY 
6 NATURAL HISTORY 
ZMISCELLANEOUS 
INFORMAT/ONM 


QAISTORY 
OCHARGE OF DEPARTMENTS 


IN PRACTICE SCHOOL 


13. YMNASTIC 
EXERC/SES (8) 
OCCVF4A TIONS LTHE SENSES 
2. CHARACTEFRISTIE5 
OF CHILDREN 


ASCHOOL GOVERNMENT 

OTEACHERS' 
QUALIFICATIONS 

UMHINTS FOR 

' TEACHERS 





FiGuRE IV. CHART SHOWING THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 
EncLisH HoME AND COLONIAL INFANT SOCIETY IN 1862 


46 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


sections: lower, middle, and highest. Here were taught Christian 
Doctrines and Precepts, and Sacred History; Language—including 
Reading, Spelling, Composition, Grammar, Etymology, and 
Paraphrase; Geometry; Geography—Physical, Mathematical, Pol- 
itical, and Historical; Natural History; Miscellaneous Information 
—including various courses of lessons on Common Objects, Proper- 
ties of Matter, Arts and Manufactures, Money Matters, Elements 
of Architecture, Political Economy; History—including Biography, 
and the study of the British Constitution; Drawing, taught as an 
imitative art,and for the cultivation of taste and invention; Writing; 
Vocal Music; Needle Work and Domestic Economy (Girls); and 
Gymnastic Exercises (Boys). The work of the Model Juvenile. 
School differed from the Model Infant School in the manner of 
instruction as well as in scope of subjects offered for study. In the 
Model Juvenile School there was greater continuity and system in 
presentation, requiring the pupils sustained attention and greater 
reasoning ability. In the lowest section pupils began to acquire 
knowledge through the use of books. In the highest section their 
study was so conducted that they might be enabled to answer any 
question about the particular lesson assigned. Reproduction of 
lessons in writing was a customary activity of each section. The 
pupils were thrown to a great extent upon their own responsibility 
and thus were accustomed to self-government. 


The Model Mixed Schools 


The third Model School was known as the Model Mixed School. 
It contained both Juveniles’ and Infants’ Schools of the country 
villages where only one school was maintained. This school was 
divided into four sections, the lowest taught as an infant section, 
and the other three as Juvenile sections. The subjects offered, 
in the main, paralleled those of the Juvenile Model School although 
they were not so advanced in character. 


The Practising Schools 


The Practising Schools provided an opportunity for the Training 
School students to develop the teaching skills set forth as standard 
in the theory courses of the Training School, and observed in actual 
practice in the Model Schools. The work of the Practising Schools 
was under the direct and constant supervision of competent super- 
intendents, as they were called, but the lessons were for the most 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 47 


part given by untrained student teachers. As a consequence the 
attainments of the Model School were considered superior to those 
of the Practising Schools. According to the regulations of the 
Institution, children were first admitted to the Practising Schools, 
but by “punctual attendance, diligence, and good conduct”’ were 
later admitted to the Model Schools. 


The Training Schools 


The Training Schools comprised a few less than 200 resident 
students, divided into five groups: (1) the class for juvenile schools 
—those who had upon examination received Queen’s scholarships, 
and those who, not being government scholars, were required to 
pay for board and residence. (There was no tuition fee, the expenses 
of the college were aided by private subscriptions); (2) the Infant 
School Class—composed in very much the same manner as the 
first group; (3) the six months’ class—members who received no 
Government aid and who were qualifying for assistantships in 
either private or public schools, (4) the governesses—who paid a 
tuition fee in addition to living expenses, lived somewhat apart 
from the Institution, and selected the courses for which their prep- 
aration had best fitted them and which best met their anticipated 
needs as teachers in private homes or superior schools, (5) students 
under eighteen years of age, who lived in a separate house and who 
usually became regular students upon reaching the age of eighteen. 


THE CURRICULUM OF THE TRAINING INSTITUTION 


The preparation of teachers in the Training Institution was 
accomplished by a three-fold program of professional activities: 
(a) a general course of study composed of about the same list of 
subjects as was prescribed for the Juvenile School;® (6) a course of 
lessons on the principles and practice of education;!® and (C) 
participation in a series of professional activities in connection with 
the Practice School." 


General Subjects of Instruction 


Since mastery of subject-matter was considered a prime requisite 
it may be assumed that the general subjects of instruction, such as 


9A Brief Account of the Home and Colonial Training Institution by Margaret E. M. Jones, 
1862. 

10 Syllabus of Course of Instruction of the Training Institution. 

1 Op. cit. 


48 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Language, Arithmetic, History, Drawing, etc., received attention 
by the students in the Training Institution on a level of study more 
advanced than that given by the pupils of the Juvenile School. 
An advanced state of mental maturity and a definite and immediate 
objective, namely, a desirable appointment, as a teacher, propor- 
tionately dependent upon thoroughness of accomplishment in 
preparation combined to make possible the difference in character 
of study just indicated. 


The Courses in Education 


The lessons in principles and practice of education are of special 
interest, dealing as they do with the English interpretation of the 
Pestalozzian principles.” 

1.-The Senses. The lessons directly related to this subject 
included such topics as the use of the senses both from a phys- 
iological and an intellectual standpoint, the functions and 
relative importance of the senses, the strong tendency of chil- 
dren to observe, what children first learn and how, and the 
method of cultivating the senses and the application of same to 
school-room practice. 

2. Characteristics of Children. In connection with. this subject 
the following topics are characteristic of the lessons given: 
(a2) the manner of development, gradual; (b) childhood, a 
preparatory state; (c) the love of activity, knowledge, curiosity, 
imitation; (d) the influence of sympathy, love, fright, early 
associations; (e) problems of attention, forgetfulness, habit 
formation. 

3. The Mental and Moral Constitution of Man. The mind, per- 
ception (difference between teaching by signs and by things), 
attention, association, memory, conception, judgment, imagina- 
tion, abstraction and generalization, reasoning, and the moral 
feelings typify this group of lessons. 

4. Diversities in Intellectual and Moral Character. In these lessons 
the theory was held that children have a general character 
but that there are individual differences. Mental and moral 
differences were stressed. 


5. General Truths Respecting the Mind. The following sub-heads 
indicate the dominant psychology of the day; (a) the faculties 


12 Syllabus of Courses of Instruction. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 49 


are innate, (b) the faculties vary in their degree of power, (c) 
there is a connection between the faculties, (d) the mind has 
its own stimulus, (e) the faculties are successively developed, 
(f) the mind is never unoccupied. 


6. The Principles of Education as Set Forth by Pestalozzt. Herein 
were included the following topics for study and discussion: 
(a) The aim proposed by Pestalozzi in Education (the 
development of intellectual and moral character), (0) the influ- 
ence of a good education (difference between incidental and sys- 
tematic education), (c) organic education (difference between 
growth from within carried on by organic action or develop- 
ment, and increase from without effected by accretion), (d) 
education begun as entire work (Pestalozzi’s motto, ‘‘ Educa- 
tion has to work on the hand, the head, and the heart.’’), 
(e) education should aim at the gradual and progressive develop- 
ment of the faculties, (f) this development should be harmo- 
nious, (g) the character or spirit of education (‘‘Not to teach 
religion alone but all things religiously’’), (#) early educa- 
tion chiefly by intuition, (z) difference between education and 
instruction, (7) education of a mixed character, (k) systems 
of education. 


7. The Art of Teaching. The lessons related to this subject were 
divided into six groups: (a) an introductory course including 
instruction regarding the methods of conversational lessons, 
the analysis and comparison of different types of lessons, and 
examination of the principles and practice of teaching, a study 
of the art of questioning, and discussion based upon the obser- 
vation of classes taught in the Model Schools; (0) a course 
on gallery instruction composed of ‘the study of such topics 
as the preparation of lessons, the subject-matter, the summary, 
the application of moral and religious lessons, order of interest, 
attention, the exercise to be given to the minds of children, 
the manner of the teacher, attention to the whole gallery, the 
use to be made of incidental circumstances (especially in 
moral training), the language given to children, and repetition; 

13 A gallery was a special space provided in connection with each infant school for the instruc- 

tion of a group of children largerthanaclass. Religious or secular instruction of a general character 
suitable for all the children of a given group in the school, such as the beginners, the second year 


pupils, etc., was given in these galleries. They accommodated from 80 to 90 pupils and the seating 
was arranged in stairway fashion. No infant school was thought to be complete without a gallery 


50 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


(c) a group of lessons on class instruction (mechanical arrange- 
ments, apparatus, amount of class instruction to be given, 
subjects); (d) a section of the course dealing with the sub- 
jects of instruction suited to an infant school, the object of 
these lessons, and principles which should regulate their choice; 
(e) and (f) lessons dealing with the subjects of instruction" 
and the points of difference between a Juvenile School and 
an Infant School. 


8. The Schoolroom as to Its Arrangement and Management. 
The lessons by means of which this subject was developed 
were clearly of an administerial nature. Cleaning, ventilation, 
temperature, order, and decoration of the schoolroom; prob- 
lems related to the opening of a new school, such as admission ~ 
of children and the register; the importance of good organiza- 
tion involving programs, distribution of work, and other me- 
chanical arrangements; classification of pupils; problems of 
attendance; social and moral lessons of the dinner hour; 
health, cleanliness, and neatness of children; the relative prob- 
lems of monitors, pupils, teachers, and paid assistants; advan- 
tages and abuses of examination, and methods of conducting 
them; number and use of holidays; relation of parents to the 
school; visitors and their treatment by the school; and the 
functions of school inspectors and patrons’ committees con- 
stitute the outline of the lessons on school management. 


9. The Government of a School,—As to the Spirit That Should Ant- 
mate It, and the Principles That Should RegulateIt. The follow- - 
ing topics illustrate the general character of this group of lessons; 
the nature and object of this government, a knowledge of 
the principles of action in childhood required in order to govern 
well, parental government, government of authority, of kind- 
ness, of justice, of fear, of influence, appeal to principle, pre- 
vention of evil, rewards, punishments, and emulation. 


10. The Qualifications of a Good Teacher, and How to Acquire Them: 
In these lessons the following points were stressed: industry 
and painstaking; a knowledge of children; desire of progress; 
perseverance in overcoming difficulties; zeal, devotedness, 

14 Listed on p. 26, 27 of the Syllabus of the Course of Instruction. 


% In Appendix XII, there is a reprint of an examination given to the students in this 
course. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 51 


energy, and activity; contentment; self-knowledge and self- 
command; union of faith and effort; humility and hope; 
patience; happiness in the work; good habits, manners, taste, 
etc.; and intelligence. 


11. Miscellaneous Hints for Teachers. This course seems to have 
dealt more particularly with the problems of the teacher 
after leaving the Training Institution. The pecuniary affairs 
of teachers, their dress, importance of simplicity in everything, 
later correspondence with the Society and means of improve- 
ment after leaving the institution are topics which are typical 
of this final course.1® 


Practice Work of Student Teachers 


The following list of practice school activities comprise the third 
phase of the teacher-preparation program: (1) observation lessons 
given as models, giving attention to aim and method, and repro- 
ducing them in writing; (2) taking charge of classes in reading and 
number, under the supervision of the teacher in education; (3) 
giving lessons to galleries under the superintendence of a competent 
critic; (4) receiving criticisms in class of lessons given to galleries 
in presence of educational teacher; (5) attending the model schools 
under charge of their educational teacher, and later to make written 
reports; (6) taking charge of a department of one of the practice 
schools, first as assistant, and then as head teacher for some weeks, 
under the inspection of the chaplain and the superintendent of 
that practice school. 

With the chart (Figure IV) as a summary of the foregoing sketch 
of the organization of the English Home and Colonial Infant and 
Juvenile Society, together with the brief story of its origin an 
adequate foundation is provided for a careful examination of the 
English conception of Pestalozzian principles. 


PRINCIPLES OF PESTALOZZI 


While not wholly in sympathy with the form of work done by 
Pestalozzi, Dr. Mayo was thoroughly enthusiastic about the under- 
lying principles advocated by this great humanitarian, as he under- 
stood them. Upon these fundamental factors gleaned from the 
writings of Pestalozzi and stated by him or his associates to the 


16 From the “Syllabus of a Course of Lessons on the Principles and Practice of Education, 
Physical Geography, and other Subjects.” 


52 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


English students of education, the philosophy emerged which 
determined the work of the English Schools putting into practice — 
the so-called object teaching. 

“The ultimate aim of education,’’ writes Pestalozzi, “‘is not 
perfection in the accomplishments of the school, but a fitness for 
life; not the acquirements of habits of blind obedience and of pre- 
scribed diligence, but a preparation for independent action.” 
This emphasis recognizes the individual child in his relations to 
croup life and very explicitly signifies that the materials of learning 
are but a means to an end. In modern education this distinction 
is commonplace, in theory at least, but in the latter part of the 
Eighteenth Century as a theory it was a radical departure from the 
prevailing educational thought. He held that preparation for life 
did not exclude the development of those faculties which were most 
observably: essential for immediate usefulness nor for the future 
action of the child. The basis of this doctrine was his theory that, 
regardless of the child’s station in life and of the calling for which 
he is intended, there are qualities of human nature common to 
all and that everyone was entitled to a full development of his 
entire capabilities. 

The foregoing is better understood in the light of Pestalozzi’s 
conception of the nature of the child. He likened a child to a bud 
not yet opened. ‘‘When the bud expands every leaf unfolds, not one 
remains behind.”’ In the education of the child the same process 
of complete expansion of the natural faculties should be effected. 
What faculties have the most important bearing upon the future 
welfare of the child and how may their development be most effect- 
ively directed? The answer given by Pestalozzi to the first part 
of the question is very definitely that no one “‘shall predominate 
at the expense of another, but that each be excited to its true 
standard of activity.”?9 The classification of human faculties 
clearly included the three groups known as the physical, the in- 
tellectual, and the spiritual or moral.2° Of these three the greatest 
importance was attached to the moral. The importance of good 
intentions, amiable dispositions, and zeal for the promotion of 
social welfare, without a corresponding intellectual accuracy, 
power of correct judgment, and resoluteness of will, accompanied 

W [bid., p. 5. 

8 [bid., p. 5. 


19 ‘What is Pestalozzianism?’’ Quarterly Educational Magazine, London, 1849, p. 6. 
20 Tbid., p. 3. ; 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 53 


by adequate physical energy, courage, and skill was held by Pesta- 
lozzi as basic to his theory concerning the manner of development 
of man’s faculties. The harmonious expansion of the entire group 
of a child’s abilities was held to be most effectively accomplished 
by beginning with the child himself. The beginning should be made 
with his physical nature, the principal parts of the body, namely, 
the limbs and the senses, and while the means are being supplied 
and the attention drawn towards them, exercises ought to accom- 
pany the knowledge to give it a practical character, rendering the 
senses active and alert, accustoming the eye to distinguish colors, 
the ear sound, and strengthening and diversifying the different 
movements of the body. The senses enable the child to consider 
the material world, beginning with objects nearest and in most 
immediate relation to the child. At this point language enters 
to furnish the names of things, observation to discover their qualities, 
and experience, assisted by instruction to teach their use and nature. 
But the material world and the lessons which it teaches are not 
to arrest the attention of the child exclusively; the relation of the 
child to other members of his own species should awaken a train of 
new ideas and feelings. From these feelings should grow a complete 
consciousness of life’s highest truths and duties in conformity with 
a true religious spirit.24_ His theories about complete development 
and the order of the development of the faculties of mankind were put 
to a practical test in his first experiment at Stantz. He was without 
books and other means of instruction; his total educational appara- 
tus consisted of himself, his pupils, and the natural objects about | 
him. He had ample opportunity to direct his whole attention to 
the existing intellectual equipment of the child. In the “Life 
of Pestalozzi’”’ by the Rev. Dr. Biber it is said that “he taught 
numbers instead of ciphers, living sounds instead of dead characters, 
deeds of faith and love instead of abstruse creeds, substances in- 
stead of shadows, realities instead of signs. He led the intellect 
of the children to the discovery of truth which, in the nature of 
things they could never forget, instead of burdening their memory 
with the recollection of words, which, in the nature of things they 
could not understand. Instead of building up a dead mind and a 
dead heart, on the ground of the dead letter, he drew forth life to 
the mind and life to the heart, by working from within.’’” This 


21 [bid., p. 12. 
22 Ibid. 


54 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


conception of the nature of childhood may be summarized by 
stating (a) that education means the unfolding of the child’s powers 
from within, not the deposition of something from without, (0) 
that there is an analogy between our physical and our mental 
constitution, (c) that the senses of childhood are ever busy, and 
(d) that vivid conceptions of truth result from an intimate acquaint- 
ance with things themselves.” 

Closely related to the thesis that all the faculties of man, namely, 
physical, mental, and moral, should be developed without sacrificing 
the complete expansion of one for another, is another principle 
which holds that the business of education is to bring the faculties 
into play in connection with each other to form an organic whole. 
The development and exercise of the various faculties is designated 
as instruction which, it is further held, should keep pace with the 
state of the faculties as they exist in the child during the successive 
periods of growth. Education as ordinarily carried on, it was con- 
tended, was a mechanical inculcation of knowledge. The difference 
in emphasis can be illustrated by Dr. Mayo’s reference to the man- 
ner in which a stone increases in size, that is, by the mechanical 
accumulation of matter on its external surface, and the growth of 
a plant which is by continued expansion from within.“ In other 
words, the child’s educational development should maintain an 
equipoise between his physical, intellectual, and moral faculties 
and within each classification in an harmonious progressive, con- 
nected, and simultaneous manner. Instruction on these principles 
implies that the natural should precede the artificial, that in the 
mastery of the elements of a science analysis should precede syn- 
thesis, that physical conception leads to metaphysical abstractions, 
and that accurate observation of facts or data is placed before the 
reasoning upon them. Such a connected scheme of education would 
in the judgment of Pestalozzi not only facilitate the acquisition of 
knowledge but would show the relation of different truths to each 
other. This process would result in ‘‘an organic whole.’ 

From the conception of education leading to the development of 
an organic whole, emerges a fourth. principle, namely, unity. 
Unity is dependent upon simultaneous action,—for example, the 
pleasing effect of a regiment of soldiers on the march. This inter- 
pretation of unity in educational practice leads to uniform repeti- 

3 [bid., p. 18. 


4 Tbid., p. 3. 
% Ibid., p. 4. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 55 


tion of sounds. It was argued that the stimulation of effort pro- 
duced by unity of action measured by time units could be materially 
increased by the addition of tone,—hence the rhythmic exercise 
of the human voice in classroom learning which took the form of a 
class drill in unison,—for example, the repetition of words or groups 
of words after their meaning had been made clear.?® 

Closely associated with the development of the moral faculties of 
the child was the insistence that education should be essentially 
religious.2”7. Not only should the child be made constantly aware 
of the beneficence of Divine power through his observation of 
natural wonders, but the teacher in his daily conduct with the 
child, should exemplify the relations of God to the individual human 
being. The execution of this ideal would be a continual illustration 
of the temper and spirit of the doctrines of Christianity. How 
Pestalozzi practised this principle is well shown in the story of the 
destruction by fire of Altdorf, a village near Stantz. In relating 
the distressed conditions of the survivors he reminded his pupils 
of their own previous want and suffering, and asked if they felt 
that the Government should be solicited to send them twenty of 
the children of Altdorf. None of the possible ensuing difficulties 
was withheld and yet so sincere were his pupils as a result of his 
religious teaching, that they persisted in their offer to furnish relief.?9 

There has been much stress in recent years upon the importance 
of individual differences and the necessity of differentiated treat- 
ment of individual pupils in accordance therewith. In Pestalozzi’s 
memoirs is found this quotation referring to the development of 
all the faculties of the child—‘‘that in every individual they appear 
under certain modifications, which render it necessary that the 
strictest attention should be paid to the shades of individual char- 
acter and talent; that in different stages of development they 
require a different and seasonable treatment.’’ In one of his letters 
the following appears:*° ‘‘We have no right to withhold from any 

26 Tbid., p. 16. 

27 From a lecture delivered by the Rev. Dr. Mayo at the Royal Institution Albermarle-Street, 
May, 1826. Also, the Educational Paper of the Home and Colonial Training Institution, April, 
say, inculcate the leading doctrines of our faith, and to present the main incidents of the 
Holy Scriptures in such a manner as shall interest the affections of the young, and not alone burden 
the memory, and to impart some real knowledge applicable to the state of society in which they 


live, and to the world around them, is the work in hand.’’ Minutes of the Committee, 1840, 


D. 437. 
*‘‘What is Pestalozzianism?’’ London, 1849, p. 14. 
30 Tbid., p. 8, 3. 


56 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


one the opportunities of developing all his faculties. It may be 
judicious to treat some of them with marked attention, and to give 
up the idea of bringing others to high perfection. The diversity of 
talent and inclination, of plans and pursuits, is a sufficient proof ~ 
of the necessity of such a distinction.’’ Therefore we may rightfully 
conclude that the recognition of individual differences and a con- 
sequent modification of educational practice was distinctly, if not 
originally, a working premise of Pestalozzi, the teacher and theorist. 

It has already been shown how the simple elements in the child’s 
environment were utilized as means of instruction in the school at 
Stantz. Pestalozzi seemed to be uniquely able to transfer his habits 
of simplicity in his daily associations with his pupils and others, to 
a simplification of teaching methods. It is said that he never 
relaxed his efforts to mature his plans until he considered it physi- 
cally impossible to proceed further in simplifying them. This trait 
became an essential characteristic of his system.*! 

The strict adherence to simplicity on the part of the teacher re- 
sulted in clear perceptions on the part of the pupil. This principle 
of teaching was expressed in the theory of intuition in learning, as 
it was then known. The practice of this thesis had its roots in 
Pestalozzi’s insistence upon a full development of the senses which 
lead to accurate observation of objects, their bearing upon human 
affairs, and relations between human beings. It was urged that 
only by accurate perception of details could exact knowledge and 
sound reaosning be gained. Thus, to illustrate, abstract rules of 
grammar were set aside; arithmetic was taught as nothing but the 
abridgment of the simple process of numeration, and the numbers 
themselves an abridgment of the wearisome repetition of ‘‘one, 
and one, and one, make,’’ etc. The arts had their foundation in 
lines, angles, curves, etc.®? 

Rigid observation of simplicity in teaching and accuracy in per- 
ception in no way ran counter to another principle of the system 
which recognized the natural activity of childhood and the desirable 
liberty which should accompany this universal tendency. Dr. 
Mayo’s interpretation clearly summarized the whole point. He 
taught that activity is the great means of development, action being 
the parent of power; that moral, mental, and physical faculties are 
strengthened by exercise and weakened through disuse; that where 


31 Jbid., pp. 12, 20. 
82 Tbid., pp. 5, 20. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching | 57 


there is action there must be liberty, restraint being necessary only 
to prevent injury.*® 

Another phase of the Pestalozzian pedagogy is expressed in the 
thought that the liberty of childhood should be directed by an 
influence essentially maternal. The parallel between the existence 
of morality and of physical being was indicated in this connection— 
“Where there is no mother there can be no child.’’ The gentle 
loveliness of domestic life transferred to educational institutions 
was the essence of this maternalistic theory. There is no disparity 
between this theory of education and Pestalozzi’s fundamental 
philosophy of life. He firmly believed that the amelioration of 
mankind must commence in the domestic circle. His school at 
Stantz proved his sincerity in the doctrine; he was compelled to 
rely upon the power of personal love, and a persisting and an all- 
prevailing benevolence was the secret of his tremendous personal 
power over children from all stations of life. This maternally 
domestic relationship between teacher and pupil becomes a tre- 
mendously important factor in any account of the system as a 
whole, and stands in sharp contrast to the principles of political 
relationship extant in other systems then in vogue.*4 

A summary of the foregoing principles may be made as follows: 
(1) The ultimate end of education is a fitness for life based upon 
positive, not negative wisdom, and expressed in independent action; 
(2) education must consider the nature of the child as the funda- 
mental basis of all teaching; (3) education to be complete requires 
the harmonious development of all the faculties of man, physical, 
mental, and moral, into a well-ordered organic whole; (4) education 
must be gradual and progressive, and should in such a process 
embody the principles of unity; (5) education is essentially moral 
and religious; (6) education must be developed in clear recognition 
of the existence of individual differences as they appear in the 
different stages of bodily, intellectual, and spiritual growth; (7) 
the material world, its relation to human affairs, and the inter- 
relationships of human beings must be reduced to their simplest 
terms if education is to progress effectively and efficiently; (8) 
education is based upon powers of intuition, i.e., upon habits of 
accurate perception; (9) activity is inherent in childhood and must 
be accompanied by liberty restrained only when social rights are 


3% Ibid., p. 4. 
4 Ibid. 


58 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


endangered; (10) education should proceed in an atmosphere of 
domesticity and maternalism. : 


PESTALOZZIAN PRINCIPLES IN THE ENGLISH SCHOOLS 


Pestalozzi was severely criticised by many of his contemporaries 
because of his apparent inability to put his theories into actual 
practice. To many observers his teaching was anything but well 
ordered and to the superficial student the cause of the failure was 
attributable to the unsoundness of the principles upon which the 
new methods were based. Dr. Mayo was one of the more sagacious 
observers who recognized the merits of the Pestalozzian views. 
He was so profoundly convinced of their truth that, as previously 
indicated, he decided to organize a school in England in which the 
idea would be religiously preserved and in which the form might 
be adapted to circumstances. His chief purposes were to exhibit | 
the system in operation, to develop through experimentation, a 
course of instruction, and above all, to prepare materials for an 
appeal to actual results rather than to present the system to reluct- 
ant audiences by lectures or through periodical publications of the 
day. 

It was thought desirable to begin the work by a series of Lessons 
on Objects. These lessons were clearly lineal descendants of Pesta- 
lozzi’s teaching experience at Stantz where, it will be remembered, 
he was without books and other educational devices. It became, 
in consequence, necessary to draw upon the child’s own experience 
and observation, and to find in him the first link in the chain of his 
instruction. Accordingly, a series of engravings was provided re- 
presenting those objects which are familiar to children; and the 
lessons consisted in naming their parts and in describing their 
structure and use. The children, however, objected to the use of 
engravings of objects which were available in reality, and the 
suggestion was adopted. Objects contained in the room, the build- 
ing, and the premises were used and when thought to be exhausted 
the pupils were taken to the fields where there seemed to be un- 
limited resources for the stimulation of educational activity. The 
weather was an occasional hindrance and there were many distrac- 
tions in the outdoor study. Consequently, there was little progress. 
A more systematized form of study was devised of which a course 
on the parts and functions of the bodily frame was an illustration. 
The chief difference between these object lessons and those observed 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 59 


by Dr. Mayo in Yverdon, lay in the fact that a previous selection 
for study was made by the teacher thereby insuring a more orderly 
presentation, more scientific in character, since they were intended 
to be preparatory to instruction in Natural History, and thus 
conducive to greater and more sustained interest.*® 

As the pupil advanced in his educational experience there was a 
progressive transition from the miscellaneous lessons on objects 
to a more orderly arrangement of materials. An example of the 
trend towards classification was found in that branch of Natural 
History designated as Lessons on Shells. Conchology, as a sub- 
ject for younger pupils, was defended on the ground that shells 
are of themselves interesting because of their strange forms and 
various colors, and they are simple and easily studied, and that they 
offer opportunities of studying animals which inhabit them. It 
was further held that the instruction received through these courses 
would function as cultural assets in later life and, too, that the 
pursuit of such study might reveal latent powers of genius which 
might later extend the boundaries of science.*® 

The application of Pestalozzianism to the teaching of formal 
Latin grammar shows the adaptability of the system to forms of 
educational activity other than the natural sciences. In Dr. Mayo’s 
school a course in Latin grammar was constructed which had its 
justification in the principle that the youthful mind is led from 
the perception of particular truths to the conception of universal 
propositions. Ideas were to be observed first in their connection 
with simplest realities and later in their abstract intellectual form. 
Accurate knowledge and its ready application constituted the pre- 
dominant feature of the lessons. Forms and principles of grammar 
were traced in analyzing selected passages of ancient authors 
and in this manner the value and use of grammatical knowledge 
would be appreciated, and a clearer conception of its principles 
would be formed. The memorization was a matter of detail, pro- 
vided for as the study progressed rather than being left to a later 
period. Previous observation and analysis, it was held, gave life 
to the grammar, and the grammar committed to memory gave 
solidity, permanency, and order to the knowledge practically 
acquired. This method was further justified on the basis of their 

8 Preface to Lessons on Objects by Miss Mayo, written by Dr. Charles Mayo. Seeleys’ 
1830. 


36 Preface to Lessons on Shells by Miss Mayo, written by Dr. Charles Mayo. Seeleys, 
1832. 


60 The Oswego Movement 1n American Education 


faculty psychology which assigned a value to the general improve- 
ment of the mind through such a form of study.*” 

One of the best illustrations of the application of Pestalozzian 
principles is found in connection with lessons on number. It was 
charged that the work in this field had been superficial in character, 
subjecting the pupils to a mechanical study of rules without ex- 
plaining the rationale of the processes involved. The new proposals 
began by a consideration of the mind of the pupil, making use of 
facts already known to him dealing with details and proceeding 
to general truths—from the example to the rule. Consistent with 
the faculty psychology then in vogue it was contended that the 
opposite form of instruction, proceeding from the general rules 
to the specific applications, might be acceptable for students already 
trained for its reception by previous acquaintance with similar 
subjects, but that it was by no means suited to the opening faculties 
of children.** Hence, to illustrate, the child was taught to under- 
stand the abstraction, three times three equals nine, by first acquir- 
ing precise ideas attached to the numbers, three and nine. A device 
used in this process was an arithmometer, a frame strung with 
wires on which were placed such familiar objects as cubes, nuts, 
farthings, balls, corks, bullets, etc. The objects themselves, in- 
dependent of any artificial arrangement, were also used. The teach- 
ing began with unity and by single integers proceeded, in the be- 
ginning lessons, to the accurate conception of ten; then followed 
by gradual progression the conception of abstract combination of 
numbers. Thus the child was led from an accurate knowledge 
of particulars to a clear understanding of general truths in arith- 
metic and to rules and definitions.*® 

In geometry the same principles applied as in arithmetic. The 
pupil was led to observe, to determine, to demonstrate, and to 
create for himself, to learn the conditions of successful investiga- 
tion, and to be able to make practical application of the processes in- 
volved which according to their theory, insured a clear apprehension 
of the subject-matter, and well-formed habits of reasoning. Step 
by step the learning should proceed—in geometry by making use 
of such objects as the cone, the pyramid, the prism, and the regular 

87 Introduction to the Latin Grammar used by the junior classes in Cheam School. Written 
by Dr. Charles Mayo. Not published until 1856. 

38 Preface to Lessons on Number by C. Reiner, written by Dr. Charles Mayo. Taylor and 
Walton, 1835. 


39 Papers on Arithmetic by Robert Dunning, General Superintendent of the Home and Colonial 
Infant Society. London, 1842. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 61 


bodies, e. g., the perfect cube. Accurate perception through careful 
observation of the details of the various solids should form the basis 
for abstract reasoning. To illustrate, by observation the child 
learns that two sides of different planes are necessary to form an 
edge; he is then asked to determine how many edges an octahedron 
has. From the data gained the abstract reasoning then proceeds 
in this fashion: ‘‘Eight triangular faces have twenty-four sides; 
two sides form one edge; therefore, as many times as there are two 
sides in these twenty-four sides, so many edges that body must 
have,—that is, twelve edges.’’ The conclusion is then checked 
by observation of the actual figure. The aim of teaching is to 
inculcate correct ideas. of subject-matter, adequate expressions 
for these ideas, and knowledge of definitions to form the connecting 
link between physical and abstract truths for immature minds. 
This more elementary form of study of geometry was followed by a 
study of Euclidian elements on a more advanced plane of mathe- 
matical reasoning and deductions. By the methods of the intro- 
ductory lessons there was in the advanced study less mechanical 
memorization, less acceptance of ready-made demonstrations, and 
proportionately more of independent judgment and original reason- 
ing. It was said that not only did the students learn mathematics, 
but they became mathematicians. These conclusions led them 
to the adoption of the principle that ‘‘every course of scientific 
instruction should be preceded by a preparatory course, arranged 
on psychological principles. First form the mind, then furnish 
itn? 

No critical comment is included regarding the principles and 
practices of object teaching in the Home and Colonial Schools be- 
cause the Oswego work was copied so closely from the English plan 
and evaluation follows in connection with the account of the pro- 
fessional problems of teaching at Oswego. What applies to one 
applies in the main to the other too. The detailed descriptions of 
the English and American practices provide opportunities for 
three observations: (1) the similarity in the character of the pro- 
fessional curricula of the training schools, (2) the identity in state- 
ment of principles, and (3) the reproduction of the essential features 
in the different kinds of object lessons taught in the practice and 
model schools, viz., simplicity, concreteness, choice of familiar 


40 Preface to Lessons on Form by C. Reiner, written by Dr. Charles Mayo. 


62 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


objects, and methods of developing perception, of forming concepts, 
and of increasing reasoning abilities. 


B. OsjEcT TEACHING IN OSWEGO 


In describing object teaching as it was found in Oswego, the same 
general order will be followed that was used in describing object 
teaching in the Home and Colonial Schools, so that comparisons 
may be facilitated. The origin of the Oswego school, the adoption 
of the Pestalozzian pedagogy, and the general outline of the work 
as practised in the Normal School department and in the Practice 
School department need not be repeated at this point. The follow- 
ing chart (Figure V) may serve to emphasize the references pre- 
viously made to the organization of the administrative system. 


THE STATE OF WEW YORK 


THE OSWEGO 
STATE NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL 
a THE PRACTICING AND 


THEORY, METHODS, SUBLECT MATTER (THE LABORATORY) 


CYVRAICULA DEPARTMENTS 
ELEMENTARY | ADVANCED INDER-\PRIMARV\ SUMIOR\ SENIOR 
ENGLISH ENGLISH) | CLASSICAL GARTEN 
COURSE COURSE |COURSE (885 | /86/ | 48635 | /880 


FIGURE V. CHART SHOWING THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 
OswEGO STATE NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL (1861-1886) 


























Characteristics of Object Teaching 63 


PROGRAM OF STUDIES FOR THE STUDENT TEACHERS 


The curriculum passed through several distinct stages from the 
inception of the school in 1861 to 1886. At the beginning the nine 
students who worked with Miss Jones as principal of the Training 
School, were all experienced teachers. The course was directly 
professional, ‘‘embracing little more than the theory and practice 
of teaching’’ and was only one year in length until 1866." At that 
time the school was placed on a firmer basis and two courses of 
study were outlined:—(1) an elementary course, extended to one 
and one-half years, which included instruction in the common 
branches, principles, philosophy of education, methods of teach- 
ing the common branches, and five months of practice in teaching 
under criticism; (2) an advanced course, two years in length, includ- 
ing the branches usually pursued in the academies and high schools, 
one term of instruction in principles of education and methods of 
teaching the branches of study included, and practice in teaching. 
The Classical course, four years in length, was added in 1867 and 
in August 1869 the Elementary course was extended to two years. 

A circular of the Oswego State Normal and Training School under 
date of February 1, 1870, sets forth entrance requirements, the 
general character of the courses, instructional facilities, living con- 
ditions, etc. At this time admission was granted through appoint- 
ments made by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
subject to the required examination, upon the recommendation of 
the several school commissioners or other educational authorities 
whose duty it was to assist in the selection of suitable candidates. 
The minimum age-limit was set at sixteen; candidates were expected © 
to possess good health, good moral character, and at least average 
abilities; they were required to pass a ‘‘fair examination in Reading, 
Spelling, Geography, and Arithmetic (as far as the roots), and be 
able to analyze and parse simple sentences.’’ Tuition and the use 
of all textbooks were free. The school year was divided into two 
terms of twenty weeks each. The courses were outlined as shown 
on pages 64 to 67. 


' 41‘*The State Normal School at Oswego,’”’ by E. A. Sheldon. New York School Journal, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1872. 


64 The Oswego Movement 1n American Education 


FIRST YEAR COURSES 


ELEMENTARY ADVANCED CLASSICAL 
ENGLISH ENGLISH 


First Term 


Arithmetic 

Grammar 

Geography 

Reading (last half) Same as first yearof Ele- Same as first year of 

Spelling and Impromptu = mentary English Course elementary English 
Composition course 

Linear Drawing (daily) 

Penmanship (last half) 


Second Term 


Arithmetic 

Grammar and Analysis 
(first half) 

Botany (second half) 

Rhetoric (first half) 

Reading (second half) 

Physiology and Zoology 
(first half) 

United States History 
(second half) 

Object and Perspective 
Drawing 

Composition (semi-weekly) 

Penmanship (first half) 

Vocal Music (second half) 

Light Gymnastics (daily) 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 65 


ELEMENTARY 
ENGLISH 


First Term 


Philosophy and history 
of education 

School Economy, Civil 
Government, and 
School Law 

Methods of giving ob- 
ject lessons, and of 
teaching the subjects 


of the elementary 
course 
Declamations, Essays, 


and Select Readings 
(The object lessons in- 
clude lessons on ob- 
jects, form, size, color, 
place, weight, sounds, 
animals, plants, hu- 
man body, and moral 
instruction.) 


Second Term 


Practice in. Training 
School, Essays, Select 
Readings or Declama- 
tions 


SECOND YEAR COURSES 


ADVANCED 
ENGLISH 


First Term 


Algebra 

Natural Philosophy 

General History 

Light Gymnastics 

Geometry 

Compositions, Declama- 
tions 

Botany (half term) 

Select Readings 

Rhetoric and English 
Literature (half term) 


Second Term 


Algebra 

Bookkeeping 

Physical Geography 

Chemistry 

Geometry and Trigo- 

nometry 

Light Gymnastics 

Compositions, and 
Declamations, Select 
Readings 


CLASSICAL 


First Term 


Algebra 

Geometry 

General History 
Light Gymnastics 
Botany (half term) 
Latin 
Compositions 
Declamations 
Select Readings 


Second Term 


Algebra 

Light Gymnastics 

Bookkeeping 

Latin 

Physical Geography 
and Astronomy 

Geometry and Trigo- 
nometry 

Compositions, Decla- 
mations, Select Read- 
ings 


66 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


THIRD YEAR COURSES 


ELEMENTARY ADVANCED CLASSICAL 
ENGLISH ENGLISH 
First Term First Term 
Same as the first term Latin 


of the second year Light Gymnastics 
of the Elementary Natural Philosophy 
English Course Greek or Modern Lan- 
guages 
Compositions, Decla- 
mations, Select 


Readings 
Second Term Second Term 

Moral Philosophy Latin 
Mineralogy and Geol- Moral Philosophy 

ogy Light Gymnastics 
Compositions Greek or Modern Lan- 
Practice in Training guages 

School Compositions, Decla- 
Methods in Higher mations, Select 

Studies Readings 


Light Gymnastics 


ELEMENTARY 
ENGLISH 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 67 


FOURTH YEAR COURSE 


ADVANCED 
ENGLISH 


CLASSICAL 


First Term 


Latin 

Light Gymnastics 

Philosophy of Educa- 
tion 

Greek or Modern Lan- 
guages 

Methods of Giving Ob- 
ject Lessons, and of 
Teaching Subjects of 
the Elementary Eng- 
lish Course 

Compositions, Decla- 
mations, Select Read- 
ings 


Second Term 


Latin 

Composition 

Greek or Modern Lan- 
guages 

Methods in Higher 
Studies 

Mineralogy and Geol- 
ogy 

Practice in Training 
School 


68 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


The foregoing outlines clearly picture the essential differences 
among the three courses. The Elementary English course included 
the common English branches; the Advanced course, all the English 
branches; and the Classical added to the work of the other two, 
Latin with Greek or French or German. The first course was 
designed to have one year of preparation and one of training; the 
second, two years of preparation and one of training; and the third, 
three years of preparation and one of training.” 

It has been noticed that the first year’s work in all three courses 
consisted of instruction in the common branches. This was done 
to insure a complete mastery of subject matter. The second year 
in the Elementary course, the third year in the Advanced, and the 
fourth year in the Classical, were devoted mainly to theory and 
practice. Text-books dealing with the various courses listed in the 
outline, written from the educational viewpoint emphasized in 
Oswego, did not exist in 1861. It was not necessary in the public 
school practice to have many text-books as object teaching and 
objective teaching called for instruction proceeding from the use 
of objects themselves or their representation. During the period 
some books were written and materials prepared which were used 
by the Normal School teachers in their theory and methods classes, 
among which were the following: 


Set of Phonic Reading Charts by E. A. Sheldon, 1862 

Manual of Elementary Instruction by E. A. Sheldon, 1862 

Lessons in Objects by E. A. Sheldon, 1863 

Sheldon’s Readers (with Teacher’s Manual) by E. A. Sheldon, 1874 

Pestalozzi: His Life and Work, by Herman Kriisi, 1875 

Textbooks in Geography, by Guyot and Smith, 1866-1875 

Studies in General History (with Teacher's Manual) by Mary Sheldon-Barnes, 
1885 

Kriisi’s Free Hand and Industrial Drawing Course, by Herman Kriisi 

Revisions in Manuals of the Kriisi Drawing Course, by Herman Kriisi, 1870 

Development Lessons by M. K. Smith and E. V. DeGraff, 1883 

Syllabus of Arithmetic by I. B. Poucher, 1882 

42 “The Oswego State Normal and Training School of New York,’’ by Mary R. Alling, Spring- 


field, Mass. Inthe New England Journal of Education, Vol. XI, No. 3, January 15, 1880. 
43 The Oswego Movement by A. P. Hollis. D.C. Heath & Co., Boston, 1898. Appendix B, pp. 


I55-158. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 69 


PRINCIPLES OF OBJECT TEACHING 


The theory courses such as mental and moral “philosophy or 
philosophy of education, were a mixture of the history of education, 
physiological psychology, and general principles of education. As 
in the Home and Colonial Training Institution the psychology was 
limited, and comprised discussions concerning the nature and order 
of development of the various ‘‘faculties’’ of the child—mental, 
moral, and physical—to which reference has already been made. 
No better authority can be presented in setting forth the principles 
which formed the framework of these theoretical or philosophical 
courses than the notes of Mr. Sheldon taken while attending, as a 
regular student, the classes at Oswego given in 1861-62 by Miss 
Jones. The following statement of Pestalozzian principles is trans- 
cribed from the original manuscript: 


1. Begin with the senses. 
2. Never tell a child what he can discover for himself. 


3. Activity is a law of childhood. Train the child not merely 
to listen, but todo. Educate the hand. 

4. Love of variety is a law of childhood—change is rest. 

5. Cultivate the faculties in their natural order. First, form 
the mind, then furnish it. 

6. Reduce every subject to its elements, and present one diff- 
culty at a time. 

7. Proceed step by step. Be thorough. The measure of in- 
formation is not what you can give, but what the child can 
receive. 

8. Let every lesson have a definite point. 

9. First develop the idea and then give the term. Cultivate 
language. 

10. Proceed from the simple to the difficult, i.e., from the known 
to the unknown, from the particular to the general, from the 
concrete to the abstract. 

II. Synthesis before analysis—not the order of the subject, but 
the order of nature. 


In elaborating upon the development of the intellectual powers 
of the child, he held that there is a certain order in which they un- 
fold and increase in strength. It follows that there should be an 


vr Lar Sin; Gere Cae a oe 
Vig Feber hei Le. din Vt fe fro 
Pee pCa 
IX Ctyceed Lr file 1s ? Tks oh - 
Figure VI. Cur MApE From Dr. SHELDON’s oseene NOTES 
TAKEN IN Miss Jones’ CLAss at OsWEGO IN 1861-1862 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 7Y 


orderly or systematic procedure employed in stimulating and direct- 
ing the growth of childhood. Two questions, then, emerge for seri- 
ous consideration. First, in what order do the intellectual faculties 
of achild develop? Secondly, how shall teachers operate in parallel- 
ing this order by the educational procedure employed? 

In answering the first question he presented the following classi- 
fication: 


1. The presentative or perceptive faculty. This is basic to all 
our knowledge for it is through the medium of our senses that 
we understand external objects, their properties, qualities, 
and number. ; 


2. The representative or conceptive faculty. This includes what is 
commonly termed memory and imagination, and by these means 
form our mental vision or conception of things. Naturally, 
our powers of conception are directly dependent upon our 
perceptive ability, and thus we see how important sense train- 
ing becomes. 


3. Comparison. By this faculty we are enabled to study the 
relation of things and ideas to judge cause and effect. 


4. Reason. This faculty enables us to recognize truths through 
processes of deduction. 


The answer to the question regarding procedure is prefaced by 
an appreciation of the purposes of education—‘‘The great end and 
aim of all human effort should be to understand the attributes of 
Deity and the laws by which He governs the creations of His hand; 
to know ourselves, the relations we sustain to Him, and the duties 
growing out of these relations, in order that we may fulfill all these 
duties and as faithful stewards work out the great design of our 
being.’“* To understand the Creator we must study His works 
and His word. Man, fashioned as he is in the image of God, is the 
highest type of Divine creation, and man cannot be understood 
except as we study his deeds and thoughts. In their recorded 
form man’s physical and mental actions are known as history. 
But to fully understand God and His divine plan we must study 
man’s environment—the places and conditions of the material 
universe in which man’s deeds are wrought. This means a study 
of natural history. This subject of study requires correct concep- 


44 A direct quotation from Mr. Sheldon’s manuscript. 





ee yi = 


ee Fat A 


OL open) ip , hei prolly perce ousted H 
Jw Uber tidiat, fet Ctu. ee 
A SLAPS tontze [te rant tof, hafisafeedatn 

ae Ales wi pdye G Canes“ GfeoF 
Mituctt. - pe 


FiGuRE VII. Mapbr From Dr. SHELDON’s ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT 
PREPARED FOR A PARENTS’ MEETING IN OSWEGO 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 73 


tions of form, size and number included under the general caption of 
mathematics. Thus we arrive at the primary and fundamental 
factors from which the natural order of studies proceeds. To 
retrace the steps, then, in their natural setting, we have: 


1. Mathematics, including geometry, arithmetic, and algebra. 

2. Natural History, including mechanics, chemistry, and biology. 

3. History, including trade, art, language, law. 

4. Metaphysics, including intellectual philosophy, aesthetics, 
ethics. 


5. Theology, including natural theology and religion. 


It becomes quite clear that the classification of steps regarding 
procedure parallels the steps outlined in the brief answer given to 
the question concerning the development of the ‘‘faculties.”” The 
training of the senses in accurate perception is basic to all thorough 
knowledge. This involves the use in teaching of real tangible 
objects and in such qualities as color, odor, sound, form, size, and 
flavor, we find the alphabet for nature’s library. As the child 
comes from the home at the beginning of his school work the teacher 
should inquire not about his proficiency in saying his A, B, C’s, but 
should determine how well he observes. The child should be 
led from that point by the teacher to increasingly accurate per- 
ception and then to accurate expression. ‘‘The true idea of school 
training is not so much to impart knowledge as to prepare the mind 
to acquire for itself and impart to others. The person who has 
this power, is in the highest and truest sense well-educated.’’* 

Mr. Sheldon continues signifying the importance of the teacher in 
his educational theory: ‘For this all-important work the teacher 
needs to be well-equipped. Among the many qualifications re- 
quired the most essential are: (1) a thorough knowledge of subject 
matter,*® (2) a ready hand at drawing so that accurate representa- 
tion may supplement the use of real objects, (3) easy communica- 
tion with children, and (4) the power to arrest and sustain the 
interest and attention of children. Our normal schools must no 
longer be preparatory schools in the various branches of study but 
in the art of teaching alone. This reformation is not the work of 
a day but of years. That it is destined ultimately to triumph as 

45 A direct quotation from Mr. Sheldon’s manuscript. 


46 This accounts for the character of the subjects required in the first year of all three courses. 
See outline previously quoted. 


74 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


education becomes better known as a science, with its well-defined 
laws and principles, and teaching more thoroughly studied and 
practical as an art, we have not the slightest doubt. ’’4? 


THE OSWEGO PSYCHOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY 


In these principles there are some theories advanced that are 
strikingly inconsistent with present accepted theories of education. 
The first statement which urges that education commence with the 
senses leaves something to be inferred. Does the principle imply 
that some other parts of the physical equipment of human beings 
will maintain the process of education once this process has been 
initiated by the senses? Does it further imply that education may 
terminate at some time during the life of the individual human 
being? If so by what means will the ending be effected and with 
what results? 

These questions assume a somewhat extreme representation of 
the inadequacies of the principle as stated, yet the mere in- 
completeness of the statement, ‘Begin with the senses’’ leads | 
to a detection of one of the fundamental errors of Mr. Sheldon’s 
pedagogy. This error lay in the accepted psychology of the day 
which assumed the existence of ‘‘faculties.”” These “faculties” 
were thought to exist in the moral, intellectual, and physical natures 
of man. The relation of these three groups of “faculties” to each 
other was not clearly shown nor was the relation of “faculties” 
within groups ever explained. To ‘form the mind” and then “to 
furnish it’? was urged as a basic educational principle and was 
axiomatic in the light of a psychology which held that the mind 
could be separated into moral and mental faculties, each associated 
with a generalized function, such as the development of courage, 
virtue, honor, accuracy, alertness, memory, etc. That these 
general faculties transferred their powers of influencing conduct 
from one condition of life to another was taken for granted and that 
the senses played an important part in the development of their 
powers was also assumed without proof. Subjective analysis was 
relied upon and a comparison of Mr. Sheldon’s statement of teach- 
ing principles with those of the Home and Colonial Schools, does 
not indicate that Mr. Sheldon had made any discriminating 


47 Words are italicized here by the author in order to call attention to the early conception 
of education as a science and teaching as an art. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 75 


analysis in accepting the English interpretation of Pestalozzian 
principles. 

In the light of present knowledge of physiological psychology the 
part that the sense organs play in the learning process becomes 
clarified. To think of the sense organs as receptors of specific 
stimuli which are transmitted to the brain centers by means of 
countless neural connections in all parts of the body, is a marked 
contrast to thinking of the organs of sight, sound, taste, smell, and 
feeling being developed through some power, human or divine 
respectively to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel in a general fashion 
which might lead to an improvement over a former use of these 
senses. We see that which we are taught to see, and not all things 
generally. Passing down the street the window decorator sees the 
shop window displays, the traffic expert locates the busy street 
corner for a commercial advantage, the law breaker avoids the 
policeman, the architect notes the form of building construction, 
the beggar is interested in prospective almsgivers, and so on. 
The same application of specific learning can be applied in the case 
of the other senses. This invalidates the theory of a generalized 
faculty, but does not deny the possibility of transferring one ability 
from one condition in life to another, provided identical elements 
are present. Modern psychology not only shows how stimuli 
affect sense organs and arouse neural activity, but it also shows 
how this neural activity operates in producing the physical reactions 
which constitute conduct. The faculty psychology of Mr. Sheldon 
and of others of his time, never passed beyond vague assumptions 
that the senses played an important part in learning; that, in the 
case of sight, learning to observe with care could be accomplished 
by developing general habits of accurate observation; and that a 
general power once acquired would be effective in all situations. 

Another principle which deserves some comment was that which 
held that the child should never be told what he could discover for 
himself. Logically, this doctrine would place every infant on a 
level with his primitive ancestors and keep him there until he had 
discovered what had been evolved during the centuries intervening 
between primitive man and modern civilization. Such wholesale 
waste of time, effort, and talent, assuming possible accomplish- 
ment, is completely at variance with the present day recognition 
of the importance of transmitting the social inheritance by means 
of education. The Oswego school procedure does not reveal any 


76 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


appreciable amount of adherence to this principle. In fact, so 
prominent was the teacher as a directive factor in the child’s learn- 
ing, that we are lead to conclude that, in addition to the educational 
fallacy of the principles under consideration, the intention of Mr. 
Sheldon to develop self-reliance in the acquisition of knowledge, 
fell far short of realization as judged by the processes employed. 
Objects of study were chosen by the teacher, elements of the im- 
mediate environment were pressed into service by the teacher, ex- 
periences of the child, e.g., in moral instruction, were summoned 
to classroom use by the teacher, the memorization of definitions 
and principles was required of the children by the teacher, catecheti- 
cal class exercises to insure the retention of facts, definitions, or 
principles were devised by the teacher. There was little remaining 
for the child to discover for himself even if the principle were 
acceptable. 

The doctrine of activity as a natural condition of child nature, 
also suffered in actual practice. The handling of objects, field 
excursions in the study of natural history, the exercise of oral ex- 
pression, manual activities, etc., were all expressive of insistence 
upon formal exercises in learning. The teacher, always as the de-— 
terminer of what should be discussed or done, left little room for 
the natural expression of activity which in modern education takes 
the form of definable interest evolved from an ever-changing world 
in which the child selects elements for further attention directly 
related to his own past experiences, his present feelings, and his 
aspirations. In such a situation as modern pedagogy depicts rela- 
tive to child activity, the teacher is the counsellor, the guide, and 
the inspiration leading to satisfying achievement. The study of 
Mr. Sheldon’s system of instruction reveals the teacher as the rule- 
book maker, the coach, the referee, the time-keeper, and the score- 
keeper, i.e., the lessons were carefully selected, the methods of 
study determined, pupil progress studied and checked by schedule 
by the teacher. 

To reduce every subject to its elements, and to present one diffi- 
culty at a time, proceeding step by step, is open to serious criticism 
from two viewpoints. In the first place, it is in direct conflict with 
another declared principle which urges that all learning proceeds 
from the particular to the general, from the concrete to the abstract. 
The former theory admits the desirability of deductive reasoning 
and the latter denies its efficacy; the former admits the possibility 


Characteristics of Object Teaching dr 


of a whole confronting the learner that urges the teacher to resolve 
the whole into its elements to facilitate the learning of the child, 
the latter insists upon the same procedure without recognizing the 
possible existence or valuable use of the whole in the form of an 
abstraction or a generalization. In the second place, assuming 
that ‘‘reducing every subject to its elements’ takes cognizance of 
deduction as a necessary first step at times in teaching, the theory 
shows a still further lack of pedagogical accuracy by the inference 
that only one thing is learned at a time. Even if focal learnings 
are reduced to unity in an educational activity, for example—memor- 
izing the date of the discovery of America,—can it be safely said that 
marginal learnings, such as, habits of thinking, appreciation, atti- 
tudes, are never results of the same learning process? This doctrine 
as stated makes such an inference. The failure to place both deduc- 
tion and induction as usual phases of learning and the apparent 
denial of concomitant learnings in the process of education, are 
evidence of partial analysis and misapplication of educational 
theory. 

‘“‘Let every lesson have a definite point’’ is incomplete in the 
light of present thought. Should the lesson have a definite point 
for the teacher or for the pupil, or for both? Does the character 
of the “‘definite point’? have any bearing upon its importance? 
Should the teacher or the pupil, or both, be responsible for the 
determination of the “‘definite point,’’ to say nothing of the selec- 
tion of the lesson originally? The statement leaves these questions 
unanswered. The formal character of the lessons, a sample of 
which is included in this chapter, leaves little room for doubt. 
The child was to be developed to some stage of maturity by nurtur- 
ing processes, not by natural methods as the stated principles 
seemed to imply. 

One more illustration of incompleteness in Mr. Sheldon’s state- 
ment of principles is found in the theory that the development of 
an idea precedes the term which enables the child to give expression 
to the idea. Language is a form of symbolism and is therefore 
useful insofar as it facilitates thinking. Ideas are only’ possible 
when perception or conception or both are active, and neither can 
be positive or negative unless there is meaning involved. Meaning 
may be conveyed through sounds, flashes, odors, etc., but in the 
case of human beings with whom language in some form is universal, 
this meaning is translated into some understandable terminology. 


78 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Ideas, then may also be accompanied by terms as well as followed 
by them—the more accurate the idea the nicer the distinctions in 
terminology. Clarity of expression is a good index of clarity of 
thought and since thinking is done in terms of meanings it follows 
that for all practical purposes the expression of thought in language 
is often coextensive with the formation of ideas. 

Mr. Sheldon’s failure at times to sense the full meaning of a 
generalized statement and his inability in many cases to make 
theory and practice consistent with each other, is well illustrated 
in the foregoing discussion of his principles. His humanitarianism 
led him to use the tools of education as he found them in improving 
the conditions of mankind. He was scarcely philosophical to a 
marked degree, nor was he analytical. His efforts were sustained 
by a commendable desire to serve humanity. 


CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE OSWEGO PRINCIPLES 


Other considerations have an important bearing upon the actual 
application of the principles of object teaching as they existed in 
the Oswego schools, mainly in the primary, junior, and senior 
departments.* In the first place the name “object teaching” was 
open to serious objection. While it is true that the method em- 
ployed the use of tangible objects and illustrations, it by no means 
should be interpreted as nothing more than miscellaneous lessons 
on objects; it was intended to cover the entire field of the early 
culture of the ‘‘faculties.”” Mr. Sheldon proposed to drop all 
specific names and refer only to the improved, natural, or philosoph- 
ical methods of teaching as such. This would lead, he contended, 
to the proper emphasis on principles by teachers in their study of the 
mental, moral, and physical constitution of children and the best 
methods in accordance therewith to effect the harmonious develop- 
ment of these various ‘“‘faculties.’’ | 

A second consideration, and the one which probably touched the 
points of greatest weakness in both English and American practice 
of Pestalozzianism,*® dealt with the danger of converting exercises 

48 “‘Object Teaching” by E.A.Sheldon. Published in the Proceedings of the National Education 
Association, 1863, pp. 93-102. 

49 James L. Hughes, Inspector of Schools, Toronto, Canada (Proceedings of the N. E. A., 
1896, pp. 387-91) refers to this point in the following words: ‘‘Pestalozzi’s chief purpose was to 
define and develop the senses so that they might be reliable agents of the brain. English and 
American teachers saw in his object teaching but a new method of acquiring knowledge more 


rapidly and definitely. And objective teaching deteriorated into formal information lessons con- 
cerning common objects.” 


| 
| 
‘ 





Characteristics of Object Teaching 79 


that should be strictly for development into instruction in abstract 
science. The aim of the early lessons in object teaching was to 
quicken the perceptive ‘‘faculty,”’ give it greater powers of accuracy 
and to awaken thought and cultivate language. To this end the 
senses were to be exercised on the observable qualities and proper- 
ties of objects. When the exercise went beyond this point, the 
senses were no longer being developed, he maintained, but the 
exercise became either a feat of memory or the exercise of some of 
the other higher ‘‘faculties.’’ No generalizations, then, were justi- 
fied which went beyond the observable qualities and properties 
of objects, and no definitions which transcended description were 
made possible by the actual perception of the child. 

The brevity of this section is misleading. What has been stated 
regarding the psychological aspects of the Oswego principles might 
quite properly be placed under this caption. Also the comments 
which are made later on the Oswego critics are a part of a critical 
analysis. There is a danger, too, in pointing out the vulnerable 
points in an educational scheme to appear to minimize the com- 
mendable attributes. It will appear as the discussion of object 
teaching progresses through this chapter and the following one that 
the advantages of the Oswego plan of object teaching were very 
real and that they have profoundly influenced American elementary 
education is quite patent. 


CONSIDERATIONS IN THE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE 
PRINCIPLES OF OBJECT TEACHING 


It followed that in the primary lessons particularly there were 
certain limitations or restrictions placed upon the practical applica- 
tion of Pestalozzian principles as Mr. Sheldon understood them, 
to the various phases of object teaching. (qa) In lessons on number, 
as Mr. Sheldon indicated, the children should be confined to the 
simple combinations of objects and numbers that came clearly 
within range of their perceptive ‘‘faculties.’’ (6) The lessons on 


form should only include observation and description of the more ° 


simple and common forms in nature. This clearly warned against 
general abstractions and definitions beyond the observing powers 
of the child. (c) The lessons on szze were to consist of the actual 
measurement of objects and distances and simple exercise of the 
judgment in the application of the knowledge thus gained. (d) In 


80 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


lessons on color the children were to be led to observe, discriminate 
and name the leading colors and their various shades and to apply 
them in descriptions of objects in nature. (e) In lessons on place 
study was to be restricted to the industrial and physical features 
of that part of the earth which the child saw in his daily walks, the 
relation of the objects so observed, to each other and to the child. 
(f) Lessons on animals and plants were limited to the study of parts, 
position, and uses of parts, their habits and adaptations to environ- 
mental conditions of familiar animals and plants. (g) In lessons 
on objects other than animals and plants a choice was made of those 
best known to the children and the following steps were observed: 
(1) simple parts and their position, (2) simple and common qualities, 
(3) more occult qualities and their adaptation to use, (4) simple 
classification of the objects and qualities considered and related 
information. In connection with the above steps the cultivation 
of language was stressed by means of (1) the simplest oral expression, 
(2) written reproduction, and (3) consecutive narrative. (h) In 
lessons on language the principle was constantly reiterated that 
ideas should precede language, that there should be a natural con- 
nection between thought and speech, between observation and ex- 
pression. The child’s first efforts at speech are to articulate the 
names of those persons, objects, and actions bearing most immediate 
relation to his desires and necessities. In school first comes the 
names of objects and their parts and then names of their qualities 
and properties to be given just so far as the child feels the necessity 
for their use and has the power to apply them. (7) Lessons on 
reading had to consider many difficulties, such as, the number of 
different sounds represented by the same character, the number of 
different characters represented by the same sound, the repre- 
sentation of some sounds sometimes by one character and sometimes 
by another, by: combination and frequent use of silent letters. 
The difficulty was obviated somewhat by teaching a single character 
with a single sound at the beginning. A few simple words were 
permitted to be learned as words, but in the main, the reading 
proceeded from the use of letters and phonetic combinations of 
letters.°° 

50 In Appendix XIII samples of lessons on number, form, size, color, place, animals, plants, 
objects, language, reading, morals, human body, weight are reproduced from Mr. Sheldon’s 


original manuscripts which were written from notes taken by him in Miss Jones’ class in Oswego 
in 1861, and reproduced from Mr. Sheldon’s Manual of Elementary Instruction, 1862. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 8I 


OUTSIDE CRITICISM OF THE OSWEGO METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 
WITH COMMENT 


Local support of object teaching was in the main generously given 
until 1872, when a public clamor against school costs and for a 
return to the old three R’s caused the system to be ejected from 
the public schools.*!_ Mr. Sheldon with commendable equanimity, 
met the opposition with kindness and firmness and in intelligent 
exposition of the principles upon which the system was founded. 
The local arguments were none the less effective in causing some 
radical and retrogressive measures in the city schools. The most 
important criticisms were made before the New York State Teachers’ 
Association and the National Teachers’ Association by Dr. H. B. 
Wilbur, then Superintendent of the State Idiot Asylum at Syra- 
cuse, New York.” The answers given by American educators to 
these charges is a matter of record. In fact, a summary of their 
statements would be a reiteration of principles and methods stated 
and discussed earlier in this chapter. Mr. Sheldon, however, sent 
one of Dr. Wilbur’s published addresses to Miss Jones and to Miss 
Mayo of the Home and Colonial School Society in London. In 
presenting the main points of the criticisms against the Oswego 
system of object teaching their replies will often be included together 
with some critical evaluation of the points made by both parties 
in the controversy. 

In the first place Dr. Wilbur conceded that the aims of those 
seeking reform in the principles and methods of elementary instruc- 
tion were entirely worthy, maintaining at the same time that 
errors in practice should be mercilessly exposed. He had no quarrel 
with the doctrine of the harmonious development of all the faculties 
by sense training and observation leading to correct expression 
of ideas. He believed that natural should preceed conventional 
knowledge, the latter beginning where instinctive behavior ended. 
It is to be noted that Dr. Wilbur also subscribed to the “‘faculty”’ 
psychology of the day. When it is remembered that scientific 
experimentation in psychology as applied to education belongs 
chiefly to the first quarter of the twentieth century, the wide ac- 


51 Even the high school was temporarily closed. The Oswego papers carried complete accounts 
of the controversy that raged. 

52‘Object System of Instruction as Pursued in the Schools of Oswego,” by H. B. Wilbur, M.D., 
Barnard’s American Journal of Education, Vol. XV, p. 180. 

53 The original manuscripts of Miss Jones and Miss Mayo are reproduced in Appendix XIV, 
and Appendix XV. 


82 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


ceptance of what appears in the light of present knowledge to have 
been an extremely non-scientific psychology is more readily under- 
stood. 

The comments by Miss Jones and by Miss Mayo, apparently 
resulting from Dr. Wilbur’s allegation that the educational practices 
of object teaching were open to serious question, furnish an excellent 
illustration of the inadequacy of some of the answers given to the 
charges made. Their reply was merely that ‘‘the critique often 
confuses practice with principles.” It was persistently urged that 
the methods of teaching should be based upon sound philosophical 
principles. If one were to admit for the moment that the principles 
were all sound and also grant the inevitability of some inconsist- 
encies in the practical application of the stated principles one would 
still expect the two, theory and practice, to coincide in general. Miss 
Jones and Miss Mayo failed to maintain the arguments advanced 
by Mr. Sheldon that the two were parallel. Their answers were 
often reiterations of principles and often plain contradictions in- 
stead of logical refutations. , 

Dr. Wilbur also failed to justify some of his remarks. This 
vulnerability was well illustrated in his second point in which he 
deprecated the fact that a new and foreign system—of dubious 
standing at home and a system “‘bigoted’”’ and “‘unphilosophical’’ 
—should be urged for adoption upon the educational public without 
more deliberation upon its constituent elements. The Oswego 
plan was advocated as philosophical rather than psychological 
and in the light of previous comment some sympathy may be 
expressed for Dr. Wilbur’s indictment of the system as ‘‘unphilo- 
sophical.’’ On the other hand, his captious reference to the “foreign” 
and “bigoted” system together with his denunciatory tendencies 
expressed in such statements as ‘‘The whole system is unwise and 
defective” are regrettable in a fair critique. The charge that the 
system of object teaching was in dubious standing in England was 
well refuted by Miss Jones. In her manuscript she exercised some 
care to show the educational standing of the Home and Colonial 
School Society. 

Another point made by Dr. Wilbur was to the effect that the new 
movement separated the beginning pupils from the other pupils 
and relied upon the exercise of their own intuitive powers and the 
resources of the teacher. This, he contended, deprived them of the 
educational influences of a mixed group. This criticism apparently 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 83 


neglects the fact that a separation of the younger children from the 
older children may be effected in the school but that this segre- 
gation is by no means consequently maintained outside the school, 
because of the separation of the two groups during the few hours 
spent in the classroom. On the streets and at home outside of 
school hours and during vacations the intermingling proceeds with 
no abatement of whatever educational value is inherent in such 
social contacts. The criticism also neglects to admit the possible 
dangers of requiring the two groups to work together at school. 
There are differences in training and experience which may cause 
the interests of the older group to be quite at variance with those 
of the younger children; there are problems of adolescence which 
may justify the separation of the two groups; and, too, the physical 
superiority of the older children over the younger, together with 
greater advancement in intellectual achievements, might work as 
much evil as good if the two groups were to be kept constantly 
together. Modern practice in grouping school children takes into 
account many more factors than chronological age. Apparently 
neither the Oswego school authorities nor their critics considered 
such factors as actual differences in mental abilities, in social devel- 
opment, in physiological and anatomical growth, in emotional 
reactions, and in motor abilities. In fact such elements could only 
have been considered subjectively as no instruments of objective 
measurement had been devised at that time: Chronological age 
was their sole objective standard in making rough groupings be- 
tween primary school children and the so-called junior and senior 
classes. 

It was also contended that the advocates of the principles of 
object teaching were in error in assuming that every child must 
rediscover for himself the truths and results to be acquired in any 
department of learning. Logically, if this assumption were tenable, 
no truth which is a consequent on some previously determined 
truth could possibly be obtained by the mind unless the antecedent 
was first secured and learned. There seems to be little ground for 
attempting to refute this point. The possible extreme interpreta- 
tion of the principle that every child should receive no help in dis- 
covering for himself that which his powers permit him to learn 
without assistance seems, in an examination of the sample lesson 
included in this chapter, which is a typical lesson, not to have 
existed in actual practice. Thus it appears that the criticism of 


84 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Dr. Wilbur merits its chief distinction in pointing out a defect in 
a stated principle, and not in a weakness of actual practice. 

A further criticism was made of the basic principles advocated 
by Dr. Sheldon regarding the parallel which he asserted lay between 
the development of the human “faculties”? and the rational order 
of development of the sciences. Dr. Wilbur held that this was a 
“‘fanciful doctrine.’’ The parallel was assuredly made upon at 
least one false premise, namely, the existence of ‘‘faculties.” It 
seems that another erroneous assumption was made by the Oswego 
teachers in including the whole of the subjects listed under mathe- 
matics, natural history, history, and metaphysics as being basic 
to a fair knowledge of the succeeding group of subjects in the order 
named. Had limits been placed in mathematics to the conception 
of number, form, and size in their simplest elements and the same 
simplicity urged in natural history, history and metaphysics, the 
parallel would have been as tenable as any comparison could be 
which is founded upon unsound doctrines. In other words the ap- 
plication of perception, conception, reasoning and imagination, 
applies in the field of mathematics when such advanced work is 
included as algebra and geometry even, as applies in the progressive 
plan of study outlined for the four fields named in the group of 
sciences. The same case could be developed for each of the three 
remaining fields—natural history, history, and metaphysics. 

The charge was also made that in the Oswego system the so- 
called Pestalozzian principles had been transmuted as well as 
translated. Dr. Wilbur held that those principles which were sound, 
were not a novelty to American teachers and those which were new, 
were valueless if not positively harmful. He cited the following 
cases: (a) ‘‘Activity is a law of childhood. Accustom the child to 
do—educate the hand.”’ The first clause, according to the critic, 
implied a restriction of this law to physical activity, therefore, the 
second clause should be, ‘‘Let the child do.’’ It was important, 
he added, to make this distinction in the light of the desirability 
of developing all his faculties. (0) ‘‘Cultivate the faculties in their 
natural order—first form the mind, then furnish it.’”’ Dr. Wilbur’s 
caustic comment on this point was to the effect that this truth was 
older than Pestalozzi and could be found throughout the educa- 
tional publications during the preceding thirty years. (c) ‘‘Begin 
with the senses, and never tell a child what he can discover for 
himself.’”. —The commentator pointed out that the relation between 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 85 


the two parts of this statement was obscure, adding that in the 
second part the word ‘‘never’’ was very questionable. (d) ‘‘Reduce 
every subject to its elements—one difficulty at a time is enough for 
a child.’’ In Dr. Wilbur’s own language—‘‘ This seems a harmless 
statement, but the practical inferences given in the manuals of 
instruction give us pause.’ (e) ‘‘Proceed step by step. Be thor- 
ough. The measure of information is not what the teacher can 
give, but what the child can receive.’’ On this principle he made the 
inference that the importance of the child in educational procedure 
was greatly minimized. (f) ‘‘Develop the idea—then give the term 
—cultivate language.’ This statement evoked an emphatic de- 
nouncement of what Dr. Wilbur thought to be ‘‘one of the most 
vicious methods of the Oswego system.’’ He maintained that 
observation and language are not inseparable and interpreted the 
quotation as implying that the mastery of an idea insured the re- 
tention of the appropriate term on the part of the pupil. ‘‘The 
danger lies,’’ he said, ‘‘in losing the thing signified in the effort to 
remember the sign.’’ In regard to Dr. Wilbur’s criticisms of these 
six principles, it seems that he was too condemnatory, insufficiently 
analytic, and somewhat lacking in a complete comprehension of his 
subject. This statement is made in the light of the discussion of 
the principles of object teaching in pages 69 to 79. 

The next question raised was regarding what Dr. Wilbur called 
the “‘grave possibility of utilitarian emphasis endangering the aim 
of elementary education—a thorough grounding in the elementary 
branches.’’ He doubted that this emphasis furnished an adequate 
preparation for the fulfillment of this objective. Miss Jones an- 
swered by stating that accurate observation should create an 
‘“‘appetite”’ for knowledge, would form correct habits and should 
not be primarily for the acquisition of knowledge. She also con- 
tended that the acquisition of knowledge as a primary function of 
education, should be a later step in the child’s development. This 
use of the word, utilitarian, differs somewhat from present day 
applications of the term in education. Dr. Wilbur evidently had in 
mind the use of the methods of primary instruction as a means in 
the acquisition of knowledge throughout the course of elementary 
education. The utilitarian aim today refers to the emphasis upon 
that education which will be directly useful at any later stage of life. 
There was no disagreement between Miss Jones and Dr. Wilbur 
regarding the meaning of the term. Miss Jones held the view that 


y 

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PORE APE Gyles te 

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Figure VIII. 


Aowy ee eae 


CutT MADE FROM AN ORIGINAL LETTER FROM MiIss JONES 


TO Dr. SHELDON IN 1863 REGARDING Dr. WILBUR’S CRITICISMS 
OF THE OSWEGO SYSTEM OF OBJECT TEACHING 


OE LT 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 87 


method was of first importance in primary instruction leading to 
a certain realization of the ultimate aim of elementary education, 
namely, the acquisition of knowledge. Dr. Wilbur held some 
theoretical doubts that the particular means used in the Oswego 
system would enable the accomplishment of this aim in elementary 
education. This type of difference in opinion furnishes a striking - 
illustration of the character of discussion about educational proced- 
ure which was initiated by the Oswego emphasis upon methods. 

Dr. Wilbur’s contention that the lessons on Form leading to 
Geometry, lessons on Place leading to Geography, etc., were ‘‘far 
from the truth,’’ was answered by Miss Jones to the effect that the 
transition did take place, not in the narrow limits of the primary 
school nor with young children, but during a complete educational 
course. 

It was also asserted that scientific and technical language was 
prematurely introduced in the Oswego methods. To quote Dr. 
Wilbur, ‘‘One hears from infant mouths such terms as granivorous 
and chalybeate, iridescent and amorphous, serrated and foliaceous, 
wmbricated and indigenous.’’ Other terms used include ‘hyaline 
watchet, lazuline, indegene, carneline, rosine, coraline, venetia, 
morone, salmonine, peachine, and magenta.’ ‘This is convincing 
evidence and, while the point is probably over-emphasized by the 
illustrations given, this criticism is one of the most fundamental 
objections made regarding actual practices. This objection is 
supplemented by another closely allied to it which points out the 
danger of emphasizing the learning of symbols to the exclusion of 
meaning. The Home and Colonial teachers answered that symbols 
should not be taught until the ideas they represented were thorough- 
ly apprehended. Furthermore, they believed that Dr. Wilbur 
confused the giving of the term after the acquisition of an idea, 
with the giving of the etymology of the term and pointed out that 
derivations were of importance chiefly in schools for the Upper 
Classes where pupils studied Latin and Greek. Quoting from Miss 
Mayo’s letter, ‘‘The Lessons on Objects first prepared (by Miss 
Mayo) were for the Rev. Dr. Mayo’s school at Cheam, whose 
pupils were quite superior to those from the working classes. The 
terms used were more difficult than those used in the Home and 
Colonial Schools. Experience has taught that when the idea is 
clearly defined in the child’s mind, the name is learned easily. Thus 
difficult words present a less difficult problem than is generally 


88 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


supposed. However, the use of simple words, whenever possible, 
is strongly advocated.” 

Another criticism closely related to the foregoing illustration 
of the use of scientific terms was made by Dr. Wilbur in reference 
to drawing lessons. He held that there was the same over-emphasis 
upon the scientific uses of the art as was apparent in the study of 
plants, animals, etc. The reply was a reiteration of a principle 
in these words: “‘It is quite contrary to the English system that 
scientific instruction should be given at an early age. The operative 
theory is that instruction should be well graduated and progressive.” 

Another issue which Dr. Wilbur raised was in reference to reading 
methods. His statements follow:—‘‘In reducing reading to its 
elements, as suggested by the Oswego enthusiasts, it would be 
necessary to have the number of elementary sounds correspond to 
the number of elementary characters. This is not true; the forms 
of the characters have no actual relations to the sounds. There is 
also the variety of form for the same letters and the same sounds are 
represented by different letters and combinations. This complex 
situation is brought to the child in the most fatiguing exercises 
by both the methods of the Home.and Colonial Society and of the 
Oswego teachers. The effect of such stupidity is somewhat amelio- 
rated by the fact that the child acquires language through a more 
direct method of his own, namely, through the assimilation of 
words as they appear before him on the blackboard, on the lesson 
cards, and in the textbooks.’’ His incisive reference to what he 
believed to be “‘stupidity’’? was met in a gentle rebuke from the 
English teachers in which they expressed the thought that Dr. 
Wilbur was some times mistaken in matters of fact and pointed out 
that he was misinformed concerning the materials used in the Home 
and Colonial Schools. They denied that their system of reading 
was unsuccessful and maintained that he had confounded the 
Phonic system of reading with a system used by another English 
School Society whose own teachers even were not dependent upon 
it, the materials representing this other system having been used 
in the Home and Colonial Schools, not as examples but as aids in 
the study of different methods. 

Dr. Wilbur’s final thrust in this address was not against object 
teaching as much as it was against the appropriation of state funds 
to further the adoption and diffusion of these methods instead of 
merely encouraging experimental study of this new system of 
instruction. 


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Figure IX. Cur MADE FROM A LETTER WRITTEN IN 1863 BY Miss ELIZABETH MAYO OF 
THE ENGLISH HOME AND COLONIAL TRAINING INSTITUTION IN LONDON, 
REGARDING SOME CRITICISMS OF OBJECT TEACHING 


90 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


So much comment has been included in this chapter regarding 
the weaknesses of object teaching that its positive values are in 
danger of being submerged. What, then, really justified the nation- 
wide attention given to these methods? Not their novelty although 
novelty may have been of some consequence in the spread of in- 
terest throughout the country. But novelty alone could have 
been a factor of any considerable magnitude only during the initia- 
tory period of the work. More fundamental causes can be identified 
than those of interest in the new methods of procedure. Object 
teaching represented a distinct attempt to make use of the con- 
crete materials in the child’s physical environment and of spe- 
cific experiences drawn from his social environment. The theory 
stressed the importance of proper habits of perception and correct 
forms of expression. In this sense object teaching emphasized 
methods of teaching in the development of child nature and placed 
the acquisition of knowledge by the child as a consequent of the 
mastery of perception, conception, and reasoning in the order 
stated. The educational theory thus shifted the emphasis from 
subject matter to the child but in so doing caused the concentra- 
tion of effort to rest upon methods of teaching to the end that 
child growth might result. These desirable elements—the use of 
familiar objects, the emphasis upon accurate perception leading 
to the formation of clear concepts and accurate expression which in- 
cluded good reasoning as a desired end, and the stress upon methods 
of teaching—probably explain the persisting influence of the Oswego 
movement. Simplicity, concreteness, use of familiar objects, 
emphasis upon perception, conception, and reasoning in the order 
named, and the importance of the use of language may be so sum- 
marized and stated as the contributions of Oswego to American 
education. In educational practices where abstract reasoning and 
the acquisition of information were predominant such factors as 
we have enumerated were profoundly revolutionary. The pro- 
posals were so comprehensible and the results of their application 
so discernible that the plan could scarcely fail to take root where- 
ever its seeds were sown. With all the deficiencies of object teaching 
the advantages of its strong points are so obvious that little room 
for doubt remains concerning the importance of the introduction 
of these new methods at that stage of the development of 
American education. 


Characteristics of Object Teaching gI 


ANALYSIS OF A TYPICAL OBJECT LESSON 


An analysis of a lesson sketch, typical of the object lesson 
sketches given in both the Home and Colonial Schools and the 
Oswego schools, may serve to bring into clear perspective some 
of the advantages and weaknesses of the system. 


LESSON ON PLANTS" 


FLOWERS 


1. Require the children to look at some flowers and say in what they are 
alike. (They all have leaves; they all have stems; nearly all have the outer leaves 
(calix) of a green color.) Let the children smell the flowers—they all have some 
kind of smell. Ask how they are produced (from slips or seeds). If a slip or seed 
be put into the ground and gets proper nourishment what takes place? (They 
grow.) All flowers are grown. What happens to flowers when taken out of the 
ground and left without water, etc. (They decay.) Who made the flowers? 
Children repeat in what flowers are alike. 

2. Having found out in what flowers are alike, lead the children to discover in 
what they differ. By the sense of smell they will discover that some have a 
sweet scent, others a strong scent, and others a faint, soft scent. By the sense 
of sight they will discover that flowers differ in size. Let them name the large 
flowers, the small ones, and find examples of each from memory. Also that 
flowers differ in shape. Some have leaves that spread out as the Iris, others with 
leaves packed closely together as the Rose, some with broad flat leaves, others 
with curled leaves. Also flowers differ in color. Let the children name the 
different colors of different flowers. Next, let them compare color of the stamens 
and leaves. Some are dark green and others a light green. Then by reference to 
flowers gathered and placed in water; some of which have to be thrown away 
on the morrow, while others may be kept. Draw from that that some decay 
directly while others last a longer time. 

3. Let the children say of whom we should think when we look at flowers. 
Would they rather have them or not? Why they would have them? Why flow- 
ers are made of different colors? Why not all green, all blue, all of the same 
shade? (They are prettier as they are. What their beauty shows about God?) 
(That He not only gives us what we need, but gives us things to please us and 
make us happy. Whom they should thank when they gather flowers?) 


The choice of the subject of the lesson is one which at once falls 
into the category of the concrete. Specimens of flowers can be 
secured easily either by the teacher, by the pupils, or as a joint 
enterprise. A selection of flowers can also be readily made on the 
basis of those which are commonly familiar. The idea of a lesson 
on flowers which may deal with familiar and concrete objects, is 
relatively a stmple one. The means to be used are almost mechanical 


54 From original manuscript by E. A. Sheldon. 


Q2 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


with respect to securing the objects of study. The attention of the 
children is then called to those more obvious or more easily observ- 
able parts of the flowers. Here observation begins, and the develop- 
ment of a number of percepts about flowers takes place, such as the 
perception of color, smell, size, form, etc. Then the concepts of 
differences and similarities are formed, leading to processes of 
reasoning. ‘This lesson is a good example of the emphasis upon 
moral and religious education which was an important part of the 
school work of the time. The sketch indicates how language is 
developed and exercise of expression provided. The form of 
expression may be considered stilted and unnatural and the choice 
of language unwise for the purposes of primary children, but the 
application of the plan to provide opportunity for language develop- 
ment in additional terms and in facility of expression, is quite 
evident. Such instruction was intended to lay the foundation for 
the formal acquisition of knowledge in the later grades by provid- 
ing the children with proper habits of study and by providing them 
with the primary elements of knowledge considered basic to their 
later elementary school work. 

The faults of this sketch are also evident. The formality which 
would result in the development of this lesson and others like it, in 
the catechetical dialogue between teacher and pupil, is open to 
serious question. The freedom of expression by the pupils seems 
to-be greatly endangered by the form of questions asked and the | 
form of answer apparently expected. Often these answers were 
required in unison which added to the formality. Another weakness 
of the lesson seems to be its indefinite purpose or purposes. The 
main objective seems to be to teach that flowers are alike in some 
respects and different in other properties. What these similarities 
and differences are, seems to be incidental and partial. A question 
might very well be raised regarding the legitimacy as a class exer- 
cise of such an objective as the main one appears to be. Will this 
lesson add anything to the present knowledge of the children re- 
garding the existence of similarity and differences in flowers? 


SUMMARY OF ADVANTAGES OF OBJECT TEACHING 


The purpose of commenting on the points of this lesson is to 
illustrate the elements which made object teaching at Oswego an 
important contribution, rather than a complete analysis of the 


Characteristics of Object Teaching 93 


lesson. These elements are simplicity in the use of familiar and 
concrete objects and experiences of the children, the effort to move 
by carefully developed steps from perception to reasoning, by the 
use of concepts, and the development of the use of exact language 
through the creation of definite ideas. 


CHAPTER IV 


OSWEGO’S EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE 


A. GROWING RECOGNITION OF THE WORK 


The Training Class which began with nine students was soon to 
become the chief center in the country for the training of teachers 
and the improvement of elementary education. As early as 1862 
a committee of the Troy (N. Y.) Board of Education visited Oswego 
and three other cities. In their report! they gave an extended ac- 
count of all four systems visited, but to Oswego over one and one- 
half times as much space is given as to the other three cities com- 
bined. In addition to a description of the administrative organiza- 
tion of the school, direct references are made to the methods of 
teaching used. Mention was made of the precision with which the 
terms describing objects were used by even the youngest pupils, 
the habits of accurate observation formed by the use of these 
object lessons, the evident interest of the pupils, and other like 
factors. 

The National Teachers’ Association meeting was reported in the 
Chicago Tribune, Saturday, August 8th, 1863. Mr. Sheldon’s 
paper on object teaching was quoted in full, but what is of more 
significance, is the fact that the series of resolutions he presented 
were considered of sufficient importance to be included in the re- 
port.2, They embodied such points as the recognition of the natural 
order of development of the mental, moral, and physical faculties 
of the child; the necessity of the teacher familiarizing himself with 
these principles and their practical application; the establishment 
of training schools for the professional preparation of teachers; 
the primacy of the perceptive faculties in mental evolution; the 
application of the last named principle in all subjects of instruction; 
the cultivation of language, not as secondary in importance, but 
secondary only in order of time; and natural methods of teaching, 
instead of object teaching. 

Believing so thoroughly in the importance of the new methods 
of teaching, Mr. Sheldon in December, 1861, invited a committee 
to visit Oswego and observe the practical operation of the system. 


1The Troy Daily Times, May 8, 1862. 
2 There is no record of the adoption of these resolutions. 


Oswego’s Educational Influence 95 


Fourteen men, prominent in the educational affairs of New York 
State, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Illinois, spent three days in 
this examination and in a formal report declared that the principles 
of the system were philosophically sound; that the principles were 
in harmony with the nature of man, that the particular methods 
of instruction observed merited their ‘‘hearty approbation”’ as 
illustrative of the principles upon which they were founded. In 
the resolutions appended to this report the Committee recommended 
the adoption of the system in whole or in part ‘‘wherever such 
introduction is practical,’ and also urged the importance of teach- 
ers who clearly comprehended its principles and who had been 
trained in its methods. Letters from many noted educators, such 
as Henry Barnard, who were invited to join the committee of 
inspection, show a great interest in the Oswego work as well as a 
sympathetic understanding of the educational importance of the 
movement. In the report of the Oswego Board of Education for 
the school year ending March 31, 1862, the statement was made 
that hundreds of letters from every portion of the country showing 
a keen interest in the new methods of instruction had been received 
during the year just closed. In succeeding reports of the board of 
education, reference is made to the placement of Oswego graduates 
in various parts of the country. The significant thing is the in- 
fluence they exerted through other training schools. 

It is not to be supposed that the new methods were received without 
opposition. In fact, the virulent attacks made against the system 
substantially contributed to the growing recognition of the work. 
In 1862, at the Rochester meeting of the New York State Teachers’ 
Association, Dr. Wilbur, Superintendent of the State Asylum for 
Imbeciles at Syracuse, N. Y., vigorously raised some objections 
to the Oswego methods. At the close of his address a committee 
was appointed to report at the next meeting in Troy to answer the 
points hestressed. The second attack was made by the same educa- 
tor before the National Educational Convention held at Ogdens- 
burg, N. Y., in 1864. Again a committee was appointed to in- 
vestigate and report at the next meeting which was to be held in 
Harrisburg, Pa. Several thousand copies of the report of the 
chairman’ of that committee which was read before the Conven- 
tion in 1865, were ordered printed and circulated throughout the 
country. At the same meeting some lessons were given, illustra- 


8 Professor Greene of Brown University. 


96 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


tive of the methods used in the Oswego schools. The favorable 
reports of these committees not only gave to object teaching the 
official endorsement of two strong educational bodies but ably 
served to spread the gospel of object teaching throughout the 
length and breadth of our country. 

Thus the movement gained strength as a factor in our national 
development of elementary education until written testimony from 
the most prominent educators of the times was forthcoming.* 

Andrew Phillip Hollis, an Oswego graduate, in his book, The 
Oswego Movement, presented many such opinions, of which only 
two will be quoted as typical of all the others. 

The history of the Normal School at Oswego, constitutes an important chap- 


ter, not only in the history of the training of teachers, but in the history of the 
public schools in this country.® 


: I place the Oswego Normal School as first in its influence upon the 
education of this country.® 


A section of a letter from Colonel Parker to Dr. Sheldon is 
further evidence and typical of the letters Dr. Sheldon received 
relative to the influence of his school. Such evidence unmistakably 
points to the growing recognition of the work. 


B. THE EXTENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE OF OSWEGO 


The Albany State Normal School had been opened in 1844; 
next came the state recognition of the Oswego institution as a 
State Normal School in 1863; and six others were opened during 
the period 1861-1886 as follows:? 


Brockport, April 17, 1867 
Fredonia, February 24, 1868 
Cortland, March 3, 1869 
Potsdam, April 27, 1871 
Buffalo, September 13, 1871 
Geneseo, September 13, 1871 


4The editorial pages of the Oswego daily newspapers frequently furnished a considerable 
amount of space for the discussion of Oswego’s educational influence. Often names of cities 
were given in which Oswego graduates were appointed as teachers; sometimes the type of position 
was mentioned; and many letters from leading schoolmen and sections of reports were repro- 
duced—all showing the nation-wide influence of the Oswego movement in American education. 

5 Rise and Growth of the Normal School Idea, J. P. Gordy, Bureau of Education, Circular No. 
8, 1801. 

6 From a letter to Mr. Hollis written by Colonel Frances W. Parker. 

7 From a published report of an address entitled ‘‘The State Normal Schools” by the Hon. 
W. B. Ruggles of Steuben given in the Assembly, January 30, 1877. 


: county NORMAL Scr 
rom FRANCIS W.. PARKER ee, 


Principal 


aie uffeww2h 6, 
a a 
Hit otz ray 


| | J Mirae Kee 





98 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


That the Oswego influence was predominant in the organization 
and conduct of these schools is indicated by the fact that Oswego 
graduates were employed in each of these® schools and also by the 
fact that their curricula were identical with those of Oswego.® 
The last fact is given greater force by reason of the.creation of the 
Elementary English course by Mr. Sheldon before the other schools 
were organized, which persisted throughout the other schools in 
practically the form originated and made operative at Oswego.” 

There were only twelve state normal schools!! in the country when 
the Oswego Training Class was organized in 1861. The following 
table shows the rapid growth of teacher-training as represented by 
the number of state normal schools over a short period of six years 


(1867): 


Calitorniata. say aed IeeMathigan M12 3.8 ae I 
Delaware: a), «cs ee ee 1. Minnesota ©. 2... Fae eee I 
Llosa ae 1. Newilerseviog 4 hone I 
Indianasy/) since aera s t. New York. 2c... 4 eee 2 
KanS8S hes anetse ae ee et a I «:Pennsylvania,. > .<s. 5 eee 4 
WES INC ke) ere mene ay t » South Carolina. 2 Sa I 
Darylana lc Al owe eee 1. Vermont... 20%, +o eee 3 
Massachusetts. co05% .4neeee.. 4. Wisconsin. ."..\’. 55.2 see 5 
Totals). os.dy's'¢ ain a diel g eed oe Rete 4s ks ti ee 29 
In addition, city normal schools had been opened as follows: 
California op ir tse ds a Me ien es 4 dite a 8 lee a) ae I 
Connecticirt, 0/55) cs 2 faa Pe te are a en ual ee I 
Indiana, .... “i uaa er ss Ves a ee Zz 
LOW! oo 0h Hed DR ts BRE ed Ae nod ee 3 
Missouriy 2aicay <Sc es l Sue oh Sey eee ee I 
Total... 3 si-. otlaly agence ie API alg ee ree aks ees 9 


This development in the professional education of teachers, 
striking as it is, sheds light on the status of this type of educational 


8 “History of the Normal School” by Herman Kriisi. A paper read at the Quarter Centennial 
Celebration, 1886. 

9See Barnard’s American Journal of American Education which gives an outline of the cur- 
ricula of some of the New York State normal schools during that period. 

10 Check by outlines of the Elementary English course prepared by E. A. Sheldon and ‘‘made 
before any training schools of this sort were in existence.” 

11In Massachusetts—West Newton, 1839, Bridgewater, 1830, Westfield, 1839, Salem, 1854; 
in New York—Albany, 1845; in Connecticut—New Britain, 1849; in Michigan—Ypsilanti, 1850; 
in Rhode Island—Bristol, 1852; in New Jersey—Trenton, 1855; in Illinois—Bloomington, 1857; 
in Pennsylvania—Millersville, 1859; in Minnesota—Winona, 1859. From Barnard’s American 
Journal of Education. 


Oswego’s Educational Influence 99 


institution when the total number of training schools, thirty-nine 
(state and city) in 1867, is compared with the 369 colleges reported 
for the year 1870." Professional education for teachers was un- 
doubtedly subordinated to classical or cultural education in the 
early history of the education of the United States but it is also 
evident that soon after the Oswego demonstration of the practi- 
cability of professional training there was a notable increase in 
the number of teacher-training institutions, the increase being 
threefold in a six-year period. No definite data are available to 
prove the extent of Oswego’s influence in this expansion of numbers. 

Just what impetus was given to the development of the profes- 
sional schools for teachers by the Oswego institution is difficult 
to determine. Convincing evidence that Oswego substantially 
influenced these schools during this period (1861-1862) rests in 
the distribution of its graduates among teacher-training institu- 
tions. The following locations of state and city normal schools 
in which Oswego graduates were placed tell the story in part:% 


STATE NORMAL SCHOOLS City TRAINING SCHOOLS 
San Francisco, California Boston, Massachusetts 
San Jose, California Cincinnati, Ohio 
Mankato, Minnesota Englewood, Illinois 

St. Cloud, Minnesota New York, New York 
Winona, Minnesota Davenport, Iowa 
Leavenworth, Kansas Portland, Maine 
Kirksville, Missouri Lewiston, Maine 
Warrensburg, Missouri Toledo, Ohio 

Terre Haute, Indiana Detroit, Michigan 
Indianapolis, Indiana New Haven, Connecticut 
Iowa City, Iowa Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
Peru, Nebraska Milwaukee, Wisconsin 


Trenton, New Jersey 
New Britain, Connecticut 
Worcester, Massachusetts 
Whitewater, Wisconsin 


These lists, although incomplete, include sixteen different state 
schools in eleven different states outside of New York, and twelve 
city schools in ten states. Unfortunately complete data are un- 
available regarding actual numbers in placement. This develop- 

The comparison is made from material found in Fifty Years of American Education 


by E. C. Moore, pp. 26-28. 
13 History of the Normal School by Herman Kriisi. 


100 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


ment as it pertains to western schools is the more remarkable in 
view of the fact that prior to 1860 there were but three State Nor- 
mal Schools west of the Alleghanies, one established at’ Ypsilanti, 
Michigan, in 1852, and one at Normal, Illinois, in 1857 and one 
at Winona, Minn., in 1859.4 In addition, graduates went into 
the South in behalf of the education of the freedman into at least 
four different institutions in as many states. 


Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee 

Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia 

Tougaloo, Mississippi 

Avery Normal Institute, Charleston, South Carolina 


Two normal schools in Japan were presided over by a native 
who was graduated from Oswego; others taught in Mexico, South 
America, the Sandwich Islands, and Canada. 

A study of alumni records shows that during this twenty-five 
year period (1861-1886) graduates taught in 43 states besides New 
York State, and in the District of Columbia. Further to illustrate 
the spread of the Oswego influence a map has been prepared (Fig. 
XI) showing the distribution of graduates by states.® In Appen- 
dix XVI a list of cities and towns is presented by states outside of 
New York State showing the distribution of graduates by parti- 
cular locations within a given state. The distribution of graduates 
needs to be supplemented by two other factors: (1) the number of 
states [24] outside of New York State sending students to Oswego; 
and (2) the fact that according to a report for 1877 previously 
quoted only 38 per cent of the total student enrollment had been 
graduated. These two factors, the drawing power of the school and 
the possible educational influence of those who for one reason or 
another failed to graduate when considered with the distribution 
of graduates, accentuate the conception of the probable extent of 
the Oswego Movement outside of New York State. 

As regards New York State it has already been stated that 
students came during the period studied from fifty-seven of the 
sixty-two counties. A study of the distribution of graduates over 
the same span of time shows an equally impressive situation. In 

14 Report of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1883-1884. : 

15 For detailed reports of the Oswego influence in the West and South, see the First Quarter 
Century Report of the Oswego State Normal and Training School, 1886. 


16 These numbers do not represent the actual number of individual graduates because many 
of them taught in more than one state during this time. 


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102 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Table H this distribution is shown by counties. In Appendix 
XVII the same distribution is made by villages and cities within 
the state. Figure XII aids in visualizing the influence of Oswego 
in its own state. The probable distribution of non-graduates is 
also an important factor in this index of educational influence. 

Graduates went into these many localities throughout the coun- 
try and beyond its boundaries in practically every existing educa- 
tional capacity’—classroom teachers, supervisors, principals, 
superintendents, critics, directors of training, and normal school 
presidents. To add to the probable influence of the Oswego School, 
mention should be made of the educational contacts made through 
lectures and institute work on the part of its instructors and its 
graduates; by the textbooks, manuals, and materials prepared by 
the same groups; and by the publicity and information given by the 
frequent appearance of articles in newspapers and educational 
journals.!® There can be little doubt in the face of the facts pre- 
sented in this study, and reports given in miscellaneous form else- 
where that there was justification for Oswego being called a Mecca 
of American elementary education. 

The influence of the Oswego Movement also extended to private 
schools. Mr. Kriisi in his history of Oswego in 1887, mentioned 
the Misses Masters’ Ladies School at Dobbs Ferry, Miss Arm- 
strong’s School in Cincinnati, the Albany Academy, the Hasbrouck 
Institute at Jersey City, and the German Academy at Hoboken, 
New York, as schools founded by Oswego graduates or in which 
Oswego trained teachers were employed. | 

In the same address Mr. Kriisi referred to the many distinguished 
visitors who came to study the Oswego methods. The committees 
appointed by the State Teachers’ Association and by the National 
Teachers’ Association were comprised of distinguished educators 
who wielded unquestioned influence through state commissioner- 
ships, city superintendencies, normal school principalships, etc. 
School trustees and teachers visited Oswego—the Troy visiting 
committee is one example. Even the Canada Board of Education 
sent delegates to observe the Oswego methods. 


C. THe PRACTICE SCHOOL INFLUENCE 


In Chapter II a description of the Practice School organization 
and a discussion of its functions are included. At this point, in 


17 Complete and exact data are not available from the alumni records. 
18 See Bibliography. 


Oswego’s Educational Influence 103 
TABLE H 


CounTIES OF NEW YorK STATE IN WHICH OSWEGO GRADUATES 
: TAUGHT FROM 1862-1886 


PRP ete tee he cid Vel r RG SOM IN agate 0 ek bat lea 8 
ESE a a ae OP oe GrelINeidas 2G iad ban amide ah ees 13 
WT oa. 5o4 us Soe och aE SUIGOMIIAGR tora ti hcne eile ens 19 
Cs inl ies a eo ere CMEC ALED Cee cise tte ol, I2 
PmnUereeNS 7.) ee ROE CPANEL een ee 6 Site. 9 
RIN ASS (ao de gre eee ua PO MMUIEIOA NS Ve yun tery ged a try Ale 3 
Ber R ACOA os ic, o's hve sips Dies Chawreg cr et ST a hs ii oh a 340 
COS ls Oe a ne ee TAC IDROR ET AN idk ae Bib: tat car cl ¢ 4 
UE a die ely ee 3 ees GSR PMCHATT So eee Vike é eke I 
Oe ae EN Sa BUCO orc ahicinie Mod igh uede sie 7 
PET Sg kn | SSS =s I ONSSCIAGH is rothndis be ate tek 23 
Cpe OS RES Ni ae Su Richness Sh oe 2 
EE ee en ae Pe ARRON IOR a Be de a bio 46 
MRE MIE EE ihe oy. hi 5 Wea a ek +o I Spth AWICNCG, acca k eshte. «9s 34. 
Coy Loo a oa aa TR OALACOR AY tease tales 5 LEPh ee, oo 5 
MRR rely Nos Wo So on aes AW OCNENECAGY) vay th ah Miso 2 Ob oO 
RORRAMALIS OA. (006) ike 02a Lis yn Tah) Schoharie Mer ere eee ats 2 
TESS, 6 i 4c hahs. eva ae bit Fe OOM UV OTs, Mure ideas alah die ali we 
OO EE GE ES SL ORE CI Mat ict tee Rel lad AiMee 3 
EE a ee CE ack MOGUL ETH. .0.0. ae Te sed ae WN 9 
Pam fe ee ee ey SENT Lay EN Ae a RRR 107 
A BAH UVEN eR. et oh Ao reR 6 
(Deenetem itis wears ni hcnatoting ae. MMOGs cts. sot ks x 
Ben eM ren Cts te atv uit cle es A lowed OUP MIT ye habe iaieve cdadees es 13 
EA DN Ae ee re MU LNStey me emer sess ot ante at Jd 21 
MPV IEMOLOU DSi). Ss as as eS TR VV ALTOS Ment yk taco he oe O 
PMID er hc Gon es Sa Dau. BV RUIN PUOM Uerred. 75. 9 oe. 6 
BeeOr ea ee oreo BTM UNV AMIGOS Ghigo cacy wrigale Ha 13 
Uh a 9 gh ae 3 ip Wwestelester suk iii. ea 48 
RE ili Haire Saiyan» OUR VORME SE Mee a ek 6 
EWN OE Sd ia ads ix hate ein ROM agree tn i Rosi vee a dila 3 I 
TNO OGL CO icah <  Saasits Bae > 22 

463 789 

fs 0 SOUS Sen Aa a A re Te Se Pe oe 1252 


discussing the Oswego influence, a comparative study of the Prac- 
tice School procedures then in vogue in the state normal schools, 
sheds considerable light on the pioneer aspects of this phase of 
Oswego’s educational activities. 


* Not located by counties in the Rand and McNally International Atlas. 


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Oswego’s Educational Influence 105 


An examination of the courses of study” in some of the state 
normal schools of the country, reveals that the idea of practice 
teaching was not originated in this country by Oswego. Several 
schools have been chosen for the study of this point, particularly 
with reference to the status of practice teaching in these institutions 
about the time, or soon after the Oswego school was founded. 
In 1867 the State Normal School at Framingham, Massachusetts, 
had a single professional course called ‘‘The Theory and Art of 
Teaching.” The usual academic subjects such as Geometry, 
Astronomy, Grammar, History, Chemistry, etc., predominated in 
their curriculum for the preparation of teachers. Some special 
professional training consisted: 

1. “‘Of plans of exercises on each subject studied by the class. 
These plans are presented orally for the criticism of teachers and 
pupils.”’ 

2. “‘Of teaching exercises given by the senior class to a class of 
children who came in from one of the public schools of the town.”’ 

In 1862 the State Normal School at Westfield, Massachusetts, 
summarized its practice teaching in the following words: ‘“‘The 
pupils have daily teaching exercises in connection with the recita- 
tions, and the members of the senior class devote a large portion 
of their time to the Theory and Art of Teaching.” 

In 1863 the New York State Normal School at Albany, offered a 
single professional course in their two-year program, called the 
‘“‘Art of Teaching,’’ and vaguely stated that the seniors were re- 
quired to attend lectures and to observe the work of the experi- 
mental and primary leche: Two weeks were required in this 
work to test the student’s ‘‘aptness to teach.” 

About the time Oswego was founded, Bridgewater Normal School 
(Mass.), offered a course in the ‘‘Theory of Teaching and School 
Laws.’’ The Salem (Mass.) Normal School listed their professional’ 
courses as School Laws of Massachusetts, Principles and Methods 
of Teaching and of School Management. . At the Bridgewater and 
at the Salem Normal Schools, students taught their own classmates 
for practice work and classes of children from a primary group 
were brought in for the same purpose. 

The Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti offered courses 
in ‘‘Organization and Management of Graded Schools,” and main- 


19 Barnard’s American Journal of Education, Vol. 17. 


106 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


tained a Model or Experimental School for the purpose of providing 
practice in teaching. No definite requirements were stated. 

The New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton provided an 
indefinite amount of practice teaching, some to be done in the 
Model School and some with Normal School classes. The same 
was true of the Illinois State Normal University at Normal, Illinois, 
and of the State Normal at Millersville, Pennsylvania. These were 
practice school conditions prevailing about the time Oswego was 
crystallizing into a state institution. In 1866 Richard Edwards, 
President of Illinois Normal University, wrote: ‘‘The School for 
Practice is unquestionably essential to the complete idea of a 
Normal School.’’ How these provisions for practice teaching com- 
pared with those adopted by Mr. Sheldon at Oswego, may shed 
some light upon the theory that Oswego in its development of the 
practice school idea, was a pioneer to some extent in this phase of 
teacher-training, at least among the state institutions for the prep- 
aration of teachers. In the cases cited, practice-teaching took the 
form of teaching normal school classes, teaching classes brought in 
before the normal classes from nearby primary schools, two weeks’ 
practice in the model or experimental school, observation in the 
model or experimental school, or observation of primary school 
teaching done by the normal school teacher before his class. 

At Oswego from the first the work of the Training Class included 
practice?’ teaching. The students’ practice work in some form, that 
is, varying from simple routine exercises of classroom administra- 
tion to complete room responsibility as teachers, was required 
throughout the school year. As the school grew and the curricula 
were increased in length and in number, the proportionate amount 
of time devoted to practice teaching decreased but the actual 
emphasis upon this phase of the work did not lessen. Where model 
or experimental schools were maintained by the early state normal 
schools, Oswego emphatically endorsed the idea of practice in 
teaching, by establishing at the outset a “‘practicing school.” 
In this respect Oswego may be said to have established a precedent 
among the state institutions engaged in teacher training. It is 
well known that the emphasis upon the work of the practice schools 
to-day is a large proportion of the work of the normal schools. 
Perhaps we owe the impetus to the movement as a phase of teacher 
training to the Oswego State Normal and Training School. 


20 See Annual Reports of the Board of Education of Oswego. 


Oswego’s Educational Influence 107 


D. Oswesco’s LEARNING ATTITUDE 


A characteristic of Oswego which doubtless did much to help 
the work of the school before the educational public was its sen- 
sitivity, and its receptivity to new movements. In 1873 the first 
public school kindergarten in the United States was established 
in St.Louis. This one had been preceded by private kindergartens,— 
the first one having been established in 1855.24. Oswego established 
one in 1881 and it became a part of the Normal and Training School 
in 1885. Whilesome 300 private and public kindergartens had been 
established by 1880 the Oswego school was among the first of the 
New York State schools to include work of this character in its 
regular program of educational activities. Another case in point 
is the establishment of a curriculum at Oswego for the preparation 
of teachers in industrial work. This was done in 1885. The work 
in manual training was introduced in this country in 1776. Oswego 
adopted the idea when it became apparent that it was based upon 
sound educational doctrine, as the discussions brought out in the 
papers read at the meeting of the Department of Superintendents 
of the National Education Association. This willingness to accept 
new and proved theories of education was but the natural result of 
Dr. Sheldon’s own attitude of mind. In the early ’90’s Dr. Mohl- 
berg of the University of Jena, Germany, and a disciple of the 
famous Herbart, was invited to visit Oswego to enlarge the psy- 
chological outlook of the Oswego teachers. In 1894, Dr. Sheldon 
made a trip through some of the eastern states “to gain more 
wisdom.’”’ Even in the summer of 1897, the year of his death, 
he attended the meeting of the National Education Association 
in Milwaukee stopping in Chicago for a week to attend a peda- 
gogical summer school to learn about some new (Spear) methods 
in arithmetic. This ability to grow seems to be a reliable index 
of the causes of the continuing influence of Oswego in the educa- 
tional work of this country. 


E. BRIEF SUMMARY 


In summarizing the points elaborated in the preceding pages 
related to the Oswego Movement and its position of eminence in 
American education it seems natural to note the devoted service 
rendered by Edward Austin Sheldon. While this study attempts 
to describe and evaluate the educational factors of the Oswego 


21E,. P. Cubberley, Public Education in the United Siates, p. 319. 


108 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Movement, it in reality embodies much that is biographical. No 
evidence has been produced in this thesis nor do his close personal 
friends and most ardent admirers urge any evidence to show that 
he was a profound scholar. His devotion to humanity was ex- 
pressed in his faith in education as a means of social progress. Dr. 
Sheldon ranks high as a humanitarian. 

It has been pointed out in Chapter I that the Oswego Normal 
School emerged from the needs of the local public schools. Doubt- 
less those needs contributed to the stability of the organization 
which attracted such wide-spread interest. 

Chapter III shows how similarly the ideas of Pestalozzian prin- 
ciples underlying object teaching were expressed in Oswego and in 
the Home and Colonial Training Institution. The circumstances 
under which object teaching was introduced in Oswego, that is, 
by the use of the English School materials, by Miss Jones’ and Mr. 
Kriisi’s teaching, made differences rather improbable especially 
upon the initial appearance of the plan. 

The residence distribution of the Oswego graduates, and their 
distribution after graduation point to the national character of 
Oswego’s influence as well as to its state-wide influence; the maturity 
of its students and the nature of the training received explain the 
professional importance of the school; and the training and ex- 
perience of the Oswego faculty members are additional elements 
which are important in evaluating the educational standing of 
the institution. 

Many other factors might be stressed in a review of the case, 
such as the organization of the school, the emphasis upon practice 
' teaching, the work of Miss Jones and Mr. Kriisi, the latter bearing 
personally and directly the traditions of Pestalozzi, the recogni- 
tion given the Oswego work by the State legislative and edu- 
cational authorities, the attention which object teaching re- 
ceived in state and national educational conferences, special in- 
vestigations and reports of the plan, and so on. But the most 
important single factor that places Oswego as a contributing force 
in American education and the one which is probably most distinc- 
tive is the educational plan of object teaching. With its sheer 
simplicity, its ready applicability, and its emphasis upon the natural 
development of childhood, in a natural environment, the Oswego 
plan of object teaching stands as a great stimulating movement 
in the progress of educational methods, in our national evolution 
of elementary education. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BOOKS 


CUBBERLEY, E. P. Public Education in the United States. A brief discussion of 
object teaching on page 269 f. A good account in brief form of the Oswego 
Movement. 


Gorpy, J. P. Rise and Growth of the Normal School Idea. This is an excellent 
account of the development of teacher training in this country up to 1891, 
the date of publication. It was issued by the United States Bureau of 
Education as Circular, No. 8. 


Hous, A. P. The Oswego Movement. This study by an Oswego graduate 
covers the entire period of Dr. Sheldon’s service in Oswego. It deals with 
American education previous to the Oswego Movement, the spread of the 
Oswego idea, later movements at Oswego, and with personalities of the 
institution. Published in 1898, D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. 


Krtsi, HERMAN. Recollections of My Life. A volume which is filled with 
reminiscences of Mr. Kriisi’s interesting and fruitful life. Contains some 
material helpful in the study of the Oswego plan of object teaching but is 
more helpful as a character study of Mr. Kriisi. 


Mayo, CHARLES AND ELIZABETH. Pestalozzi and His Principles. This volume 
is made very valuable because of original and selected notes by Robert 
Dunning. This is the third edition, printed in 1873. 


Mayo, CHARLES and ELIZABETH. Practical Remarks on Early ‘Education. The 
fifth volume of this book appeared in 1857. It was originally intended for 
the use of schools and private families. It contains discussions on religious, 
moral, intellectual, and physical education. One of the valuable features 
of the volume is the list of questions which appears at the end of each chapter 
and affords an excellent guide in the study of the chapter. 


Mayo, EvizaBetH. A Manual of Elementary Instruction. Volume I was pub- 
lished in 1860 and Volume II in 1861. They were designed for use in the 
infant schools and treated such forms of instruction as, language, geography, » 
number, form, drawing, and plants. The work of the kindergarten and 
gallery instruction also receive some attention. 


Mayo, Exizasetu. Lessons on Objects. This volume was prepared for children 
from six to eight years of age for use in her brother’s school at Cheam. The 
book contains a preface by the Rev. Dr. Charles Mayo in which he stresses 
the idea of Pestalozzianism as he conceived it and not merely the form 
transplanted. The book contains a vocabulary at the back as the words 
used were not generally common to small children. This is the book H. B. 
Wilbur criticized in 1863 as being too scientific for infant education. 


Mayo, ExizaABetH. Lessons on Objects. A graduated series of lessons for 
children from six to fourteen years of age. The book was arranged by Dr. 


IIO The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Sheldon for use in American schools and was published in this country in 
1863. The edition he rearranged was the fourteenth edition printed in 
England in 1855. 


Monroe, Paut. A Brief Course in the History of Education. A brief statement 
regarding the Oswego Movement, its source and meaning. 


Moors, E. C. Fifty Years of American Education. A brief reference on page 
50 to object teaching as it was introduced at Oswego and its growth into 
natural science in elementary education about 1870, followed in turn by a 
development of nature study in the latter part of the nineteenth century. 


REISNER, E. H. Nationalism and Education since 1789. A brief reference to 
the Pestalozzian influence in the United States reflected through object 
teaching, pp. 460 f. 


REYNOLDS, JOHN S. Hints on School Buildings and on the Management and 
Superintendence of Infant Schools. This volume gives a clear idea of the 
problems indicated in the title. It was edited by Mr. Reynolds in 1863 and 
published in 1874. The volume is comprised of reports by teachers, com- 
mittees, patrons, and visitors. The Rev. Dr. Charles Mayo has an intro- 
duction on the ‘‘Importance, Advantage, and Character of Infant Schools.” 
The volume is valuable in the study of infant education in England. 


REYNOLDS, JoHN S. The Government Plan. The full title is “Hints for the 
Improvement and Extension of the Government Plan for aiding the Educa- 
tion of the Labouring Classes.’”” John Strickney Reynolds, Esq., was Hono- 
rary Secretary of the Home and Colonial School Society. The article has 
a direct bearing upon object teaching as it related to the education of the 
children of the laboring classes. The book was published in 1860. 


SHELDON, E. A. A Manual of Elementary Instruction. This book published in 
1862 was intended for “the use of public and private schools and normal 
classes.’’ It contains a graded course of object lessons sketched after the 
manner in which they were prepared for use in the Oswego schools. 


SHELDON, E. A. Autobiography. This book was published in {911 although 
written about fifteen years before. It is supplemented by memorial sketches 
which help to accentuate the noble character of Dr. Sheldon so obvious to 
the reader of his autobiography. 


SKINNER, C. R. Life and Character of Edward Austin Sheldon. A tribute to the 
sterling worth of Dr. Sheldon delivered before the National Education Asso- 
ciation at Washington, D. C., July 7, 1898 by Mr. Skinner, then State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of New York. 


SHELDON, E. A.and Bartow, E.H. Teachers’ Manual of Instruction in Reading. 
This was designed to accompany Sheldon’s Readers. It was published in 
1875. A good index of the methods Dr. Sheldon proposed in the teaching 
of reading. 

SHELDON, Mary D. Studies in General History. This book (1856) was one of 


the results of the new emphasis upon methods of get occasioned by the 
introduction of object teaching in Oswego. 


ee _ 


Bibliography III 


Historical Sketches Relating to the First Quarter Century of the State Normal 
and Training School at Oswego, N. Y. This volume is extremely valuable 
for the wealth of material related to the origin and development of the 
School. It contains biographical sketches and a roster of graduates during 
the period 1861 to 1886. 


History of the First Half Century of the Oswego State Normal and Training 
School. This book of 344 pages is a valuable collection of data related to 
various aspects of the development of the school. It contains two reprints 
from the Quarter Centennial Report (Dr. Sheldon’s Address of Welcome 
and Kriisi’s paper on the history of the school), accounts of the work of the 
literary societies and the Normal Christian Association, biographical sketches 
of the teachers, speeches of the semi-centennial program, letters from alumni, 
reports, alphabetical list of graduates, and many illustrations in the form of 
portraits, etc. 


MISCELLANEOUS. PAMPHLETS, CIRCULARS, REPORTS, AND ABSTRACTS 


Hoose, JAMES. The Common Schools of the State of New York. This title is 
abbreviated from the title of the address delivered in 1878 before the New 
York State Association of School Commissioners and City Superintendents. 
It is an excellent paper dealing with the relations of various phases of educa- 
tion to each other and to the state and provides a clue to the type of thinking 
in vogue at the time and of the existing conditions of common school educa- 
tion about 1878 in New York State 


Jones, MARGARET E. M. The Home and Colonial Training Institution. A brief 
account of the organization of this institution and the Pestalozzian system 
as ‘taught and practised in their schools.’”’ Extracted from the Quarterly 
paper of the society: for January, 1862. 


MAyo CHARLES. Introduction to the Latin Grammar used in the Junior Classes 
in Cheam School. Not published until 1856 when it was included with 
other prefaces by Dr. Mayo. This one is an example of Dr. Mayo’s applica- 
tion of Pestalozzian principles to educational practices above the primary 
grades of the elementary school. 


Mayo CHARLES. Observations on the Establishment and Direction of Infant 
Schools. A lecture delivered at the Royal Institution, 1826. This is a good 
index of the ideas regarding primary education held by Dr. Mayo. 


Mayo, CHARLES. Preface to Abbott’s “ Teacher.’’ An excellent discussion of the 
place of the teacher in the educational system as Dr. Mayo conceived it. 


Mayo, CHARLES. Preface to ‘‘Lessons on Form’’ by C. Reiner. A statement of 
the educational principles advocated by Dr. Mayo in teaching elementary 
geometry. 


Mayo, CHaArues. Preface to ‘‘ Lessons on Numbers,” by C. Reiner. Published in 
1835. A discussion of the applications of the principles of object teaching 
to elementary processes in arithmetic. 


112 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Mayo, CHARLES. Preface to “‘ Lessons on Objects,’ by Miss Mayo. This preface 
was written in 1830. A philosophical discussion of the principles under- 
lying object teaching. 


Mayo, CHARLES. Preface to ‘Lessons on Shells,” by Miss Mayo. Appeared in 
1832. Important as a study of principles of the use of objects in instruction. 


Mayo, CHARLEs. The Life of Pestalozzi. This is a lecture delivered in 1826 and 
is an admirable presentation of Dr. Mayo’s impressions of Pestalozzi as a 
man and as a teacher and educational philosopher. 


SHELDON, E. A. How Can a Practice School be Made to Answer the Purpose of a 
Good Public School? This is an abstract of a paper read by Mr. Sheldon 
before the Normal Department of the National Education Association. 
Referred to under the title of ‘‘The Practice School’’ in list of addresses 
and Journal of Proceedings of the National Education Association. 


SHELDON, E. A. Oswego Training School for Primary Teachers on Pestalozzian 
Prinicples. A circular dated January 23, 1862 setting forth the purposes 
of the Training School and announcing the advent of Miss Jones. 


Annual Reports of the Board of Education of the City of Oswego. These 
reports bound in two volumes covering the years 1854 to 1877 furnish 
‘abundant material for the study of the educational developments of the 
Oswego public schools, and of the causes of the origin of the normal school, 
of the early Oswego conception of object teaching, and of the organization 
and growth of the work of preparing teachers at Oswego. The reports until 
1869 were prepared by Mr. Sheldon, who was until then also in charge of 
the public schools. 


Circular Relative to the Report of a Committee on Object Teaching. This 
circular prepared by Mr. Sheldon states the conditions leading to the ap- 
pointment of a committee by the National Teachers’ Committee in 1864 
to study the Oswego plan of object teaching. It gives the personnel of 
the committee and refers to the nature of the report the following year and 
the distribution of copies of the report. 


Circular of the State Normal and Training School at Brockport, N. Y. 
Valuable, as it shows the exact curricula offering of Oswego in 1870. This 
circular is dated, August I, 1869 and is in the same form as the Oswego 
circular mentioned elsewhere in this bibliography. 


Circular of the Oswego State Normal and Training School. This circular 
is dated February 1, 1870. It includes a brief statement of the state require- 
ments for admission, an outline of the courses of study (curricula), condi- 
tions affecting student life, list of faculty members, etc. 


Education, National and Denominational. ‘This is a reprint from The 
Record and contains information regarding the work of the Home and 
Colonial School Society. Published about 1870. 


General Examination of Training Schools. Oswego preserved three copies 
of examinations given in School Management by the Home and Colonial 
Training Institution before the certification of teachers. Important in 


Bibliography 113 


furnishing information regarding the form and character of these examina- 
tions for prospective teachers. 


Home and Colonial School Society. Thirty-fifth annual report 1870-71. 
A good report of the accomplishments of the year with summaries of some 
past achievements. 


Home and Colonial School Society. This is an abstract of the report and 
speeches delivered at the anniversary meeting, May 1, 1871. A good brief 
statement regarding the work of the Society. 


Syllabus of the Courses of Instruction. Given to the students in training 
at the Home and Colonial Society’s Schools on the principles and practice 
of Education, physical geography, natural history, musical instruction, 
and drawing. The pamphlet is an elaboration of the description of this 
work which is included in Chapter III. 


The Educational Paper. Of the Home and Colonial School Society. 
April 1861 and July, 1862 numbers are preserved at Oswego. They are 
valuable for their wealth of illustrative material in connection with the 
organization of their schools and the practice in object teaching. 


What is Pestalozzianism? Taken from the Quarterly Educational 
Magazine and published for the Home and Colonial School Society in 
1849. A very valuable pamphlet in interpreting the English views on 
Pestalozzianism. 


SPECIAL MAGAZINE ARTICLES 


ALLING, Mary R. The Oswego State Normal and Training School. In Volume 
XI, Number 3 of the New England Journal of Education published in 1880 
appeared this brief but valuable account of the development of the Oswego 
Normal School. 


BARNES, MARY SHELDON. Edward Austin Sheldon. In The School Journal for 
October 9, 1897, pp. 364-366. Dr. Sheldon’s life and work is briefly sum- 
marized by his daughter. 


Hous, A. P. Dr. E. A. Sheldon and the Oswego Movement. In the May, 1898 
number of Education, pp. 545-554, a eulogistic account of Dr. Sheldon and 
his work was reproduced. 


Jones, MarGcaret E. M. Education in America. 1863, pp. 8-11. This 
article presents Miss Jones’ appraisal of American Education in the light 
of her experience as a teacher at Oswego. The article appears in The 
Educational Paper of the Home and Colonial School Society for the years 
1859-1863. This volume contains articles by Robert Dunning, Head Master 
of the Home and Colonial Schools, Miss Elizabeth Mayo, Mr. John S. 
Reynolds, and others connected with the Society. 


SHAW, Epwarp R. Normal Teaching. In the September 13, 1884 issue of 
The School Journal Mr. Shaw presented a brief account of object teaching 
in Oswego as it applied to history. He had visited Oswego and observed 


114 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


the history teaching of Miss Mary D. Sheldon who later wrote the book 
mentioned in this bibliography. 


SHELDON, E. A. Our State Normal Schools. This article in the New Vork 
School Journal for February 17, 1872 is one of a series of articles prepared 
by Dr. Sheldon on the work of teacher training. This one deals with the 
work at Oswego. 

ADDRESSES AND REPORTS IN 


Barnard’s American Journal of Education 


Busse, F. Object Teaching—Its Principles and Methods. V. 30, p. 417. Taken 
from Diesterweg’s. Wegweisser. Deals with the educational practices in 
Germany of 1873. The article includes a list of books on object teaching by 
German writers. 


CaLxins, M.A. The History of Object Teaching. V. 12, p. 663. A good account 
of the development of object teaching as it came into the educational practice 
of this country. 


JONES, MARGARETE.M. Laws of Childhood. V.12,p.629. This account offers 
a good index of the psychology which operated in the plan of object teaching. 
It was based upon the prevailing ‘“‘faculty”’ psychology. 


MarceL C. Conversations on Objects. V. 11, p. 21, 330. These articles give 
illustrations of the way in which oral expression was developed through the 
use of objects in classroom instruction. 


SHELDON, E. A. Object Teaching. V. 14, p. 93. A clear discussion of his 
conception of the principles underlying object teaching. 


Wicpur, H. B. The Object System of Instruction. V. 15, p. 189. This paper 
in the main duplicates the one in the Proceedings of the National Education 
Association. There are some prefatory remarks attached to this article 
which help to clarify Dr. Wilbur’s position in attacking the Oswego system 
of instruction. 


YounG, T. U. Subjects and Methods of Early Education. V. 13, Dek gore 
discussion of the merits of object teaching. 


National Teachers’ Association Committee Report, 1865. Object Teaching. 
V. 16, p. 245. This is a valuable discussion which sets forth the reasons for 
assuming the educational positions stated in making the criticisms of the 
principles and practices of the Oswego plan of object teaching. 


Account of Borough Road Schools. V. 10, p. 395. A Hand-Book of the 
British and Foreign School Society, London 1856. 


Books by Charles and Elizabeth Mayo. V. 14, p. 771. This article is a 
list of the book productions of Dr. Mayo and his sister related to object 
teaching. 


Influence of Pestalozzi on the Infant School System of England. V.9, p. 462. 
A brief article dealing with the application of Pestalozzian principles to 
primary instruction in the schools of the English Home and Colonial Infant 
and Juvenile School Society. 


— ee 


= t.-—. 6 CU eee ee 


Bibliography 115 


Lessons on Objects, London, 16th edition, 1859; Philadelphia, 4th edition, 
1839. 

Model Lessons for Teachers, Part I and Part II, 1838, 1853, 1854, 1856, 
1857. 

Lessons on Shells, New York, 1833, London, 1846. 

Lessons on the Miracles, London, 1845. 

Religious Instructions, Part I, London, 3rd edition, 1853; Part II, London, 
ard edition, 1852. 

Normal and Model Schools of the Home and Colonial Infant and Juvenile 
School Society. V.9, p. 449. A brief account of the organization and work 

- of the English Home and Colonial School Society. 


E. A. SHELDON. V. 15, p. 484. This is a sketch of his life with a portrait 
accompanying. 

Primary Instruction by Object Lessons. V. 12, p. 605. This is a report 
made in 1862 by a committee of investigation which was selected and in- 
vited to visit Oswego to study the new methods of object teaching. The © 
committee spent three days (February I1, 12, 13) in reviewing the work of 
the primary classes. 


Stow, Davip. Gallery Training Lessons. V. 9, p. 414. General directions 
regarding preparation for teaching gallery lessons. 

Specimen of Lessons in the model and training schools of the Home and 
Colonial School Society. V.9, p. 467. The title is self-explanatory. 

State Normal and Training School at Oswego, N. Y. V. 16, p. 209. A 
brief statement regarding the origin and early development of the school. 

State Normal and Training School at Oswego, N. Y. V.17, p. 713. Prac- 
tically the same discussion as given in V. 16, p. 209. Floor plans of the first 
building occupied by the school are reproduced. 

Statistics of Oswego. V.19, p. 112. References to the general conditions 
of the library, to salaries, population, enrollment, etc. 

Statistics of Oswego. V. 29, pp. 176, 317, 353, 358, 363. Scattered sta- 
tistics of the school given in the Annual Report of the United States Com- 
missioner, for 1877. The report includes brief references to such matters as 
population, attendance, number of teachers, etc. 

Thoughts on Education. V. 13, p. 372. Beginning with page 378 there 
follows a brief discussion of object teaching. 


REFERENCES FOUND IN THE 


Addresses and Journal of Proceedings of the 
National Education Association 


BUCHANAN, J. R. Object Teaching. 1883, p. 39. A discussion of the relation 
of ideas and words as occasioned by the use of objects. 


CrossBy, W. E. Object Teaching. 1870, p. 80-81. A paper which indicates 
some of the dangers of the method. Followed by discussion by N. E. Cobleigh 
and E. A. Sheldon. 


116 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


DicKINsoN, JoHN W. The Objective Element in Teaching. 1887, pp. 70-73. 
A discussion of the use of objects and subjects as stimuli to pupil activity. 


HAILMANN, W. N. From Pestalozzi to Froebel. 1880, pp. 128-137. This 
article presents a discussion of the basic assumptions of Pestalozzi leading 
to a statement of the laws of object teaching and their relation to the edu- 
cational doctrines of Froebel. 


HARRINGTON, HENRY F. Objective Lessons. 1875, p. 167 f. A discussion of 
objective lessons as means of communicating new experiences and naming 


the ideas which they originate, in order to give meaning to the words used 
by children. 


HERVEY, WALTER L. Object Teaching. 1891, p. 734. Reference made to 
object teaching in Oswego and the work of Edward Austin Sheldon. 


HuGuEs, JAMES L. True Objective Teaching. 1896, pp. 387-391. This article 
points to what the author considered a weakness of the American and 
English interpretation of Pestalozzian principles. 


Laturop, Detia A. Object Lessons—Their Value and Place. 1871, pp. 49-64. 
A very detailed account of the meaning of object teaching with the authoress’ 
evaluation of its advantages and a statement of the objections brought 
against it. The paper is followed by discussion from various educators who 
were present. 


Mayo, A. D. Object Teaching. 1872, p.17. An able discussion of the topic by 
one of the most prominent American educators who sympathized with the 
movement. Discussion by others followed the reading of the paper. . 


PARKER, FRANCIS W. Influence of Oswego. 1891, p. 89. The following quota- 
tion indicates the nature of the article: ‘‘One school alone has thrown more 
light upon better methods than any two universities in the land 
Oswego and Dr. Sheldon is its prophet.” 


SHELDON, E. A. Object Teaching. 1862, p. 93-102. This was the first paper 
Dr. Sheldon presented to the National Education Association on object 
teaching. It is a complete statement of his understanding of the purposes 
of education and of the advantages of object teaching in facilitating the 
realization of those purposes. 


SHELDON, E. A. The Practice School. 1896, pp. 651-659. A clear statement 
of the author’s ideas regarding the organization and purposes of a school of 
practice. 


SHELDON, E. A. Value of Objective Methods. 1895, pp. 228-230. An exposition 
of his theory that educational procedure should train children ‘‘to think, 
to reason, and to express their ideas.”’ 


SHELDON, E.A. What is the Proper Work of a Primary School? 1870, pp. 103-110. 
A good statement of the functions of primary education and of how object 
teaching fits the needs of small children. 


— _ 


— = +o 


a a 





Bibliography 1 ay 


SINGER, EDGAR A. Object Lessons. 1880, pp. 113 f. A discussion of the purposes 
of object teaching. This article gives, as far as it pretends to go, a valuable 
statement of the aims of the method. 


SINGER, EpGAR A. Object Lessons and Oral Instruction. 1880, pp. 118-120. 
This article outlines the work in object teaching for the first three years of 
school work. 


SKINNER, C. R. Philosophy of Edward Austin Sheldon. 1898, p. 63-70. A 
restatement of many of Dr. Sheldon’s declared principles together with an 
appraisal of Dr. Sheldon asthe author knew him. 


Tuompson, L. S. Is the Educational Value of the Construction of Objects in our 
Public Schools overestimated? 1888, pp. 598-602. The question explains 
the nature of the article. The discussions about manual training occasioned 
this view of educational values in the use of objects. 


Witpur, H. B. The Object System of Instruction. 1864, pp. 189-209. This 
is the paper to which reference has been made in the body of the thesis 
(Chap. III). It is the most comprehensive printed analysis of object teaching 
found among the writings of the subject. It is avowedly an attack upon 
object teaching. 

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS 


The Chicago Daily Tribune for Saturday, August 8, 1863. This gives a 
report of the National Teachers’ Association meeting held in Chicago at that 
time. It contains a complete report of Dr. Sheldon’s presentation of object 
teaching and the resolutions appended. 


Newspaper clippings. During the period of Oswego studied in this thesis 
an extensive collection of clippings from the local newspapers was made and 
preserved. They were valuable in this study for three reasons: (1) they 
reflected the efforts of the educational interests of Oswego and shed light on 
the difficulties encountered, and (2) they gave excellent information con- 
cerning the normal school and object teaching through the articles prepared 
by Dr. Sheldon on these points, (3) they gave some insight into the attitude 
of the State educational and legislative authorities toward education and 
particularly toward the preparation of teachers. 


The Troy Daily Times for May 8, 1862. Contains a report of the visiting 
committee of the Troy Board of Education, in which the Oswego plans of 
school organization and of object teaching are set forth. 


ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL 


SHELDON, E. A. An original manuscript dealing with the ‘‘characteristics of a 
true teacher.’’ An excellent statement showing the high places in which 
Dr. Sheldon placed teachers and setting forth the qualifications necessary 
in order to meet the heavy responsibilities of teaching. 


SHELDON, E. A. Class Notes in ‘‘ School Economy.” The authorship is attrib- 
uted to Dr. Sheldon although the sets of notes, carefully preserved, were 


118 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


taken by students in Dr. Sheldon’s class in “School Economy.”’ These 
notes were helpful in interpreting the educational procedure followed at 
Oswego. 


SHELDON, E. A. Course of Instruction for the Elementary Training Schools. 
A curriculum which Dr. Sheldon claims to have made before the existence of 
that kind of training for teachers. 


SHELDON, E. A. Course of Instruction for the Oswego Normal and Training 
School. This is an original manuscript outlining what Dr. Sheldon called 
the ‘Elementary Preparatory Course,’ and the ‘Advanced Preparatory 
Course.” It was the development of the one year course in operation when 
the Oswego Normal School was first formed. 


SHELDON, E. A. While Miss Jones was in Oswego, Mr. Sheldon sat as a pupil 
in her classes. Three note-books full of his original notes have been pre- 
served. These are of great value in showing how he studied the Pestalozzian 
principles and how he learned to develop sketches of lessons in object teaching. 


SHELDON, E. A. Original manuscript of Dr. Sheldon’s prepared for presentation 
to patrons of the Oswego Schools. In these pages he states his understanding 
of the principles of Pestalozzi, his own arguments for object teaching, and 
describes the general character of object teaching. 


SHELDON, E. A. The Training of Teachers. An original manuscript presenting 
Dr. Sheldon’s views on the importance and means of adequate preparation 
for teachers. 


SHELDON, E. A. Personal Correspondence. A very valuable collection of letters 
which passed between Dr. Sheldon and many prominent educators of his 
time. These letters were of a personal character but in most cases included 
some thought or criticism of the work in object teaching being done in Os- 
wego. Letters are included from Henry Barnard, Miss Elizabeth Mayo, 
Miss Margaret E. M. Jones, Francis W. Parker, W. T. Harris, Miss Elizabeth 
Peabody, and many other distinguished contemporaries of Dr. Sheldon. 








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APPENDIX I 


FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES OF THE “RAGGED SCHOOL” 
IN OSWEGO—1849 


In the Saturday morning (July 14th, 1849) issue of the Commer- 
cial Advertiser the second quarterly report of the Association 
was printed. The following quotation indicates the difficulties 
which finally brought the immediate work of the organization to 
a close: 


‘““Nearly every abode of poverty and wretchedness has been visited since the 
opening of warm weather, and for the most part the children have been gathered 
into day schools and Sunday schools. In this respect a great change has been 
produced since November Ist. Then, there were hundreds who were not in 
school—had no prospect of going to school, and who never came under any 
wholesome moral influences. Now, scarcely a child can be found over the age of 
five years, if not usefully employed, but is in both some day school and Sunday 
school. We find that in this respect a great good has been accomplished. We 
shall regret to see an institution that has greatly effected, and promises to still 
effect so much for the welfare of this class, nipped in the bud. But without the 
means it is impossible to go on. Enough has been pledged to meet all the ex- 
penses of the year, but we find a great want of promptness in the fulfillment of 
their pledges, which is a fair indication that there is a lack of interest in the 
effort. This constitutes the only discouraging feature in the case.’’ 

That such dangers as the lack of adequate financial support and lessened 
interest beset the project from the earliest days of the work done by Mr. Sheldon 
as teacher in the ‘‘ragged school”’ is shown by the closing sentences of the first 
annual report made April 16th, 1849: 

‘‘We feel, however, that no interest should be taken from the school, but rather 
that we should renew our efforts to sustain it, as there is every encouragement 
from the success that has attended the effort thus far; the good that it has al- 
ready accomplished and promises still to accomplish. The Association is very 
much in want of funds to meet its expenses, and unless some means can be de- 
vised to increase its funds and collect what has already been subscribed, they 
will be compelled to suspend operations. We should exceedingly regret to have 
it fail for want of support, for we know of no way by which, with the same amount 
of means, more good can be accomplished.” 


APPENDIX II 
LOCAL INTEREST IN OSWEGO FOR FREE SCHOOLS—1849 


That a great amount of local interest was developed regarding 
the proposals for free schools may be sensed by the following 
editorials: 


(1) Commercial Advertiser, December Igth, 1849, Oswego, N. Y. 
Editorial—City Schools. 


We publish the proceedings of a highly respectable meeting of our citizens, 
to devise some plan for the improvement of our district schools. We are glad 
to see the movement of leading citizens in the promotion of a cause so beneficent 
and important as the education of the children of the city. The movement to 
elevate the standard and extend the blessings of common school education to 
all, is in the spirit of the new law and in harmony with a growing public sentiment 
that looks to the amelioration of society and the perpetuation of republican in- 
stitutions, by the efficiency of universal intelligence and intellectual cultivation. 


(2) Commercial Advertiser, Thursday, November 29th, 1849. 
Editorial—Free Schools. 


By the late vote of our ‘‘Free School Act” our public schools have become free. 
This every lover of improvement must hail as a bright omen for our State. In 
point of wealth and political importance, she has long ranked as the Empire State 
of the Union, but in regard to Education, she has been obliged to yield the palm 
to a sister state. The State, by the high rank she has ever taken in the scale of 
intelligence, has been able to exert an influence far greater than that of wealth 
or numerical power. This difference we can only attribute to the fact, that edu- 
cation is free, to all classes. 

Knowledge is power. As a State then would become great and powerful, she 
must not only remove every obstacle to the attainment of knowledge, but use 
every means in her power to facilitate its acquisition. We understand it to be 
the bounden duty of the State to enact any and every law that will tend to 
promote the general good. In this light, we believe it to be her duty, not only 
to provide for the education of all, but also to see that every child zs educated, 
that they improve the advantages afforded them. If parents refuse or neglect to 
educate their children, the State should take them under its own tutelage. Were 
we asked what one thing tends most to diminish crime and pauperism, we would 
answer, free education. Education begets self-respect, and that feeling of inde- 
pendence which begets energy and enterprise, and just in proportion as men learn 
to respect themselves, they will respect the rights and happiness of others. Now, 
merely in a pecuniary point of view, it is better for the State to educate ten 
children than to support one pauper or convict, to say nothing of the difference 
in regard to morals, intelligence, and consequent usefulness as citizens. And 
what applies to States, applies with equal force to smaller communities. Does it 
not become us then, as a city, to look after, and provide for, the education of the 
great mass of children and youth coming into our midst, and soon to claim citizen- 
ship with us? No one, who has given it the least thought or examination, can 


A ppendix 124 


but realize the importance, not to say absolute necessity, of some immediate, 
systematic, and efficient action on this subject. In the first quarterly report of 
the ‘Orphan Association’’ we saw it stated that there were, previous to their 
efforts, hundreds of children between the ages of six and fifteen, who did not 
know ‘‘A, B, C,”’ and we have no reason to doubt the statement. It is a lament- 
able fact, that great numbers are growing up uneducated, whose influence, through 
the ballot box, will soon be as powerful ‘‘for weal or woe”’ as that of the most 
intelligent. We all see and deplore such a state of things; but what is to be done? 
Our present schoolhouses will not contain more than two-thirds of the children 
who ought to be in school; and in one district we might mention, the house will 
not hold one-third of the children drawing public money. We see no alternative 
but to erect new buildings or to enlarge old ones. It seems to us that the time 
has come when our schools should undergo a thorough remodeling and reorgani- 
zation. All, or nearly all, of our sister cities have systematized their public school 
education, erected fine, spacious buildings, and put them under the charge of the 
most competent teachers. Why cannot we do as much? We cannot but hope 
that some effort will be made in this direction soon. As soon as the present press 
of business is past, we think it might be well to call a public meeting of the citizens 
to gain a free expression of feeling in regard to the best course for us to pursue, 
and what system to adopt, if any, etc. etc. We believe that such a call would be 
heartily responded to by our generous and public-hearted citizens. 


APPENDIX III 


COURSES OF STUDY IN THE PRIMARY DEPARTMENT OF 
THE SCHOOLS OF THE CITY OF OSWEGO, 1859-1860 


First YEAR 


First Term 


Webb’s Cards 

Spelling in connection with Reading 
Object Lessons 

Moral Lessons 

Printing Lessons on Slates 

Physical Exercises 


Conversational Exercises or Lessons 


Lessons on Form... ../.9., seein step 
Lessons on Color... ..........18¢ step 
Lessons on Objects. . .. Ist step 
Lessons on Size. J... /...), 15 sees 
Lessons on Human Body.. ....1st step 


Lessons on Animals, with pictures 

Physical actions and employments 

Moral instruction, Ist step begun, as 
found in “Graduated Course,” as 
also lessons drawn from daily oc- 
currences, and from various miscel- 
laneous works, as ‘‘Cowdry’s Moral 
Lessons,’’ ‘‘Simple Lessons,” ‘‘ Moral 
Class Book,” “A Kiss for a Blow,” 
“Evening Readings,’ ‘“‘Evenings at 
Home,” ‘Peep of Day,” ‘Precept 
upon Precept,’ ‘‘Line upon Line,” 
“Here a Little and There a Little.” 

Learn names of objects, qualities, and 
animals employed in lessons, and an 
additional number of easy words 
given on the board, so far as the 
objects, actions or qualities repre- 
sented by the words, can be presented 
to the senses of the children, or where 
the children are perfectly familiar 
with them. 


Second Term 


Progressive Primer to p. 40 

Spelling in connection with Reading 
Object Lessons 

Moral Lessons 

Printing Lessons on Slates 

Physical Exercises 


Lessons on Objects..... 2nd step begun 
Lessons on Form.......2nd step begun 
Lessons on Color.......2nd step begun 
Lessons on Size. ....... 2nd step begun 


Lessons on Human Body 2nd step begun 
Lessons on Animals..... Ist step begun 


A ppendix 125 


Second Term 


General Exercises 


Lessons on Pictures of Common objects 

Physical actions and employments, 2nd 
step begun 

Moral Instruction, Ist step completed, 
and miscellaneous topics and selec- 
tions, as first term. 

Learn easy words from board and cards 
as first term, and read easy lessons in 
Progressive Primer to page 40. 


Third Term 
Progressive Primer Completed Lessons on Objects... ..2nd step con’t. 
Spelling in connection with Reading Lessons on Form....... ard step con’t. 
Object Lessons Lessons on Color....... 3rd step con’t. 
Moral Lessons Lessons on Size........2nd step con’t. 
Printing Lessons on Slates Lessons on Human Body 3rd step con’t. 
Physical Exercises Lessons on Animals... ..2nd step con’t. 


General Exercises 


Lessons on Number, Ist step with objects 

Lessons on Pictures, 2nd step of common 
objects 

Lessons on Physical..... 2nd step con’t. 
Actions, etc. 

Moral Instruction, 2nd step begun in 
connection with miscellaneous topics 
and selections as before. 

Reading, complete Progressive Primer 

Spelling from Reading books by sounds 
or powers of the letters. 


SECOND YEAR 


First Term 

Progressive First Reader to Lesson 35 Lessons on Objects... ..3rd step begun 
Spelling in connection with Reading Lessons on Form....... 4th step begun 
Writing and Reading of Numbers, Lessons on Color. ...... 4th step begun 

orally taught Lessons on Size........3rd step begun 
Object Lessons Lessons on Weight...... Ist step begun 
Moral Lessons Lessons on Animals..... 2nd step con't. 
Printing Lessons on Slates Lessons on Human Body 4th step begun 
Physical Exercises Lessons on Number... ..1st step con’t. 


General Exercises 


Simple Lessons in Drawing 


Lessons on Physical Actions, etc., 3rd 
step begun 

Moral Instruction. .....2nd step con’t. 

Reading, Progressive First Reader to 
Lesson 35. 


126 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


First Term 


Spelling, same as last term. 

Printing lessons on Slates. 

Gymnastic Exercises, alternating with 
other lessons. 


Second Term 


Progressive Reader to Lesson 57 
Spelling in Connection with Reading 
Schell’s Arithmetic, to Subtraction 
Object Lessons 

Moral Lessons 

Printing Lessons on Slates 

Physical Exercises 

General Exercises 


Simple Lessons in Drawing 


Lessons on Objects... ..3rd step con’t. 
*Lessons on Form......4th step con’t. 
Lessons on Color....... 5th step “ 
Lessons on Size........ 4th step “ 
Lessons on Weight .....2nd step “ 
Lessons on Animals.....3rd step “ 


Lessons on Human Body 4th step con’t. 

Lessons on Number, 2nd step with ob- 
jects. 

Moral Instruction, 3rd step begun and 
other topics and selections as in 
previous terms. 

Reading, Progressive First Reader to 
Lesson 57. 

Spelling, as before. 

Printing Lessons on Slates. 

Gymnastics as last term. 

*Elementary Lesson begun. 


Third Term 


Progressive First Reader, completed 
Spelling in connection with Reading 
Schell’s Arithmetic, to Multiplication 
Object Lessons 

Moral Lessons 

Printing Lessons on Slates 

Physical Exercises 

General Exercises 

Simple Lessons in Drawing 


Lessons on Objects, 4th step begun in 
connection with lessons on miscellan- 
eous objects. | 

Lessons on Form, 4th step Elementary 
Lessons continued. 

Lessons on Color, 6th step. 

Lessons on Place, Ist step in connection 
with ‘‘Geography for Young Child- 
ren.” 

Lessons on Number, 3rd step with 
objects. 

Lessons on Animals, 4th step begun. 

Lessons on Drawing before the children, 
Ist step. Also from ‘‘ Boston Primary 
School Tablets.” 

Miscellaneous Lessons from Occasional 
Exercises, as found in the ‘Graduated 
Course.” 


ee 


— 


A ppendix 127 


Third Term 


Moral Instruction, 3rd step continued, 
together with additional topics and 
selections as before. 

Reading, Progressive First Reader, 
con’t. 

Selling, Printing on Slates, and Gym- 
nastics, as before. 


THIRD YEAR 


First Term 
Progressive Second Reader to Lesson 22 Lessons on Objects...... 4th step con’t. 
Spelling in connection with Reading Lessons on Form.......4th step con’t. 
Town’s Speller, to Lesson 35 Lessons on Place, 2nd step in connection 
Schell’s Arithmetic, to Division with ‘‘ Geography for Young Children.” 
Object Lessons Lessons on Drawing, 2nd step in con- 
Moral Lessons nection with “Tablets.” 
Physical Exercises Lessons on Number, 4th step with 
General Exercises objects. 
Simple Lessons in Drawing Lessons on Animals, 4th step con’t. with 
Writing on Slates additional pictures. 


Lessons on Plants, in connection with 
pictures of the organs and parts of 
plants. 

Miscellaneous Exercises from ‘‘Occa- 
sional Lessons.”’ 

Moral Instruction, 4th step begun with 
other topics and selections added as 
before. 

An occasional piece of descriptive poetry 
may be committed, during the three 
terms of this year, for recitation. 

Reading, Progressive Second Book to 
Lesson 22. 

Spelling, in connection with Reading, 
and Town’s Speller to Lesson 35. 

Spelling by names of the letters may now 
be introduced; but frequent exercises 
should be had in spelling by the 
powers of the letters. 

Gymnastic Exercises as in previous 
terms. 


Second Term 


Progressive Second Reader to Lesson Lessons on Objects, 5th step begun 
50 and additional subjects, as before. 


128 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Second Term 


Spelling in connection with Reading Lessons on Place, 3rd step in connection 

Town’s Speller, to Lesson 55 with ‘““My Little Geography’’ and 

Schell’s Arithmetic, through Division “‘Geographical Charts,’ and ‘‘Geog- 

Object Lessons raphy for Children.” 

Moral Lessons Lessons in Number, 5th step with 

Physical Exercises objects. 

General Exercises Lessons in Natural History, with pic- 

Simple Lessons in Drawing tures, including animals and plants. 

Writing on Slates Lessons in Drawing, Lesson for first 
class in ‘‘Eye and Hand” and from 
“Tablets.” ji 


Moral Instruction, 4th step continued 
accompanied as before with miscel- 
laneous topics and selections. 

Reading, Progressive Second Reader to 
Lesson 50. 

Spelling, as last term. 

Town’s Speller, to Lesson 55. 

Gymnastics as before. 

Lessons arising out of incidental cir- 
cumstances, showing the children 
wherein the disposition or conduct 
brought before them, agrees or dis- 
agrees with the standard of the Bible, 
should be introduced, not only at 
this point, but throughout the entire 
course, as often as opportunity offers. 


Third Term 
Progressive Second Reader completed Lessons on Objects, 5th step con’t., and 
Spelling in connection with Reading additional subjects. 
Town’s Speller to Part 2 Lessons on Place, 4th step substituting 
Schell’s Arithmetic, Reviewed State of New York and United 
Object Lessons States of American for England, etc. 
Moral Lessons Lessons on Number, 6th step with 
Physical Exercises objects. 
General Exercises Lessons in Natural History, Zoology, 
Simple Lessons in Drawing with pictures. 
Writing on Slates Lessons in Drawing Lesson for Second 
Class in ‘‘Eye and Hand,” and from 
Tablets.” 


Moral Instruction as last term. 

Reading, Progressive Second Reader, 
complete 

Spelling, as last term, going to Part II 
in Speller. 


Appendix 129 


Third Term 


Gymnastics as before. 

In all Lessons on objects, where it is 
possible, the objects themselves should 
be presented to the children, and 
when they cannot be obtained, pic- 
tures should be used. 

In all lessons on animals, either speci- 
mens or pictures should be presented 
to the children. 


In connection with the second courses of study the following 
quotation offers further explanations of the character and purposes 
of the work: 


‘“‘In the above plan of studies the object is not so much to impart information 
as to educate the senses; arouse, quicken, and develop the perceptive and con- 
ceptive faculties, teach the children to observe, and to awaken a spirit of in- 
quiry. To this end the pupils must be encouraged to do most of the talking and 
acting. They must be allowed to draw their own conclusions, and if wrong led 
to correct them. The books should only be used for reference and as models for 
the lessons to be given. Every lesson should be previously and carefully pre- 
pared by the teacher, so that she may go before the class with a feeling of ease and 
confidence. The children should be allowed to have two short recesses of ten 
minutes each, morning and afternoon, and gymnastics and signing exercises 
should be frequently introduced to give change to position and rest to the child- 
ren, and keep up an animated and pleasant state of feeling. The younger children 
should not be detained at the school building to exceed four hours each day and 
the older ones may be excused as they get through with their exercises, not to 
exceed one hour before the regular time of closing the other schools, both morning 
and afternoon.” 


APPENDIX IV 
SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF MARGARET E. M. JONES 


For the details of the life of Margaret E. M. Jones, the first 
principal of the Oswego Normal and Training School, we are in- 
debted to her sister, Mrs. Bessie Coghlan, of London.1 


“Mrs. Jones was born in Bond Street, London, England, about 1824. Her 
father was a highly intellectual man, a great reader and rare conversationalist. 
Her mother was gifted with many graces which fitted her to adorn society and 
made her the idol of her husband and children. Margaret, the daughter of these 
favored parents, had a fondness for learning, even when a tiny child. No one 
knew how she learned to read, and at the age of four years, no book was too 
difficult for her. She mastered French and German with little help, committed 
pages of favorite authors, celebrated family events by poems, at the age of twelve; 
and those not being the days-of cheap books and circulating libraries, she bor- 
rowed reading matter from all who would lend.” 

‘Feeling that she was the eldest daughter of six children and therefore ought 
to support herself, she was advised by her friend, Mrs. John Valpy, to be trained 
at the Home and Colonial College, London, for a governess. On entering this 
college she found herself delighted with everything taught there, especially every 
word relating to mental science and the theory of education. She listened to all 
lectures upon these subjects and reported them, even more fully than they were 
given—her clear, far-reaching thought enabling her to go beyond the thing said 
to the larger thought behind and below the expression.” 

“At the end of her training at the Home and Colonial College, she was appointed 
one of the Head Governesses. As the Home and Colonial College was the pioneer 
of all teaching, Whiteland’s Training School applied there for a Head Govern- 
ess who could give lessons on Education, Methods, and Criticism. Mr. Reynolds 
felt that there was no one who would be so fit for this position as my sister. She 
was at Whiteland’s about a year, I believe, but for certain reasons, so disliked 
the work as carried on there, that she returned to the Home and Colonial and there 
remained until she was selected to go to your College (Oswego Training School) 
in 1861.” 

“T do not think that any work she ever did gave her more pleasure than that 
at Oswego. She loved you all and was never tired of talking of the intellect of 
the Americans, and their enormous capability of acquirement as well as of all 
the love and kindness she met while in Oswego.” 

“She returned to England in the summer of 1862, and about three and a half 
years after leaving Oswego she married her cousin, Mr. Lawrence Jones.”’ 

‘I may add that for some time she occasionally wrote poetry for a weekly 
newspaper, and that she published several stories, a book of poems, etc.”’ 


1 Taken from the printed Report of the First Quarter Century of the Oswego State Normal 
and Training School, which includes addresses and letters read on the 25th anniversary of the 
school, July 8th, 1886. 


Appendix 13 ' 


“Throughout her life she had been most amiable and unselfish—religious in 
the highest and widest sense—possessing a power of seeing the best side of every- 
one. Perhaps for her own happiness she has been too sensitive. Unkindness 
might vex and annoy others—it deeply wounded her. She had the highest moral 
nature and never left a difficult duty undone, though her nervous temperament 
made her shrink from asserting herself. She was considered an excellent teacher; 
she thoroughly knew her subject, her selection of words was perfect; all her expla- 
nations were most clear. Her patience, her gentle voice, and her loving interest 
endeared her to all who learned from her.”’ 

The alumni of the classes of ’62 and ’63 remember Mrs. Jones with deep affec- 
tion, respect, and admiration. In her there was a rare mingling of qualities; 
she was all gentleness, love, persuasive patience, diffidence, reverence for human 
nature. She had almost infinite tenderness for children, for the suffering, for 
the erring. In all the gentler graces she was truly Christ-like; but she was also 
brave, heroic, undaunted; she was far-sighted and large-minded; she came quickly 
with sympathy with those whose thinking and working were in fields remote from 
her own. She was in short, truly philosophic—possessing power to see things 
in their true relations.” 

Her pupils in America remember her criticisms upon lessons given before her as 
so many gems—clear, faultless, diffusing light. In their strong light faults unseen 
before were plainly shown, but most of all the virtues, the strong points in the 
lesson given were revealed for our inspection, appreciation, and imitation. As 
a critic Mrs. Jones was a master; ner language was classic; her influence refining 
and inspiring, and when she returned to England she left upon us a blessing, 
spirtual as well as intellectual. 

While in Oswego she assisted Mr. Sheldon in the preparation of “Sheldon’s 
Manual for Teachers.” 

Many of the strongest graduates of our school, those who have taken charge 
of training classes, owe their first insight and inspiration to Mrs. Jones. Thou- 
sands of teachers in the United States, and even in other lands to which Oswego 
graduates have gone, little dream they owe much of inspiration and progress to 
the critical work of the first Principal of the Oswego Normal—Mrs. M. E. M. 
Jones. 

Nineteen years after Mrs. Jones returned to England, Miss Mary D. Sheldon 
and Dr. Mary V. Lee were making a protracted stay in England, and were in- 
vited to visit Mrs. Jones, then living in Pontefract, Yorkshire. They will never 
forget the gracious and generous hospitality they received, nor the kindly interest 
with which each one of Mrs. Jones’ American pupils was remembered. Mrs. 
Jones was in the fullest possession of her remarkable powers, alive to all interests 
at home and abroad, her deep and charming conversation shedding light upon 
various subjects, her tenderness and sympathy creating about her a heavenly 
atmosphere. Later Mrs. Jones visited Dr. Lee and Miss Sheldon at Cambridge, 
their college home, and was intensely interested in seeing all that famous univer- 
sity was doing for women. 

Mrs. Jones is still living, and not infrequently sends to her Oswego friends 
papers narrating English events which may be interesting to them. 


APPENDIX V 
SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF HERMAN KRUSI, A.M.t 


Herman Kriisi was born in 1817, at Yverdon, Switzerland. His father was 
a teacher in the school of Pestalozzi, then at the height of its popularity. Four 
years later, however, he resigned his position, and removed with his family to 
the Canton of Appenzal. Soon after he established a private normal school in 
Gais, and it was in this school that Herman Kriisi received his early education. 

From 1835 to 1838 he pursued academical studies in Dresden and Berlin, 
visited and studied the workings of the Prussian Normal Schools, which were the 
best in Europe, and were chiefly conducted by men who had been students under 
Pestalozzi. 

Returning to Gais, he assisted in the Normal School until 1846, when the 
death of his father caused the school to be given up, and Kriisi was obliged to 
seek elsewhere for employment. Two situations were offered to him—the one 
from Dr. Mayo, as teacher in a private school in England; the other as tutor in 
the family of a Russian nobleman. He chose the former and was soon on his way 
to England. 

Dr. Mayo’s school was situated at Cheam, fifteen miles from London, and 
was patronized by the wealthy classes and the nobility. But the methods of 
teaching employed there—namely the old routine system—were distasteful to 
Kriisi, and he resigned at the end of the year. 

On leaving Cheam, he visited the Home and Colonial School in London, and 
while there was invited to join the corps of teachers. This school aimed to have 
all its work based upon the principles of Pestalozzi. Kriisi accepted the situation, 
and became teacher of arithmetic and drawing, and also aided in working out 
methods of instruction. 

During the three years that he was connected with the school, he arranged 
a course of inventive drawing—the first that was ever prepared, and which was 
afterward introduced into Massachusetts by Mr. Whitaker, who had been his 
pupil in London. All work on this subject can clearly be traced back to the work 
of Kriisi, from which later authors have freely borrowed. 

In 1852 he returned to Switzerland, intending to teach the youth of his own 
land; but soon after, through the recommendation of Dr. Lowell Mason and others 
who had seen his work in London, a situation was offered him by Professor William 
Russell, who had established a private Normal institute in Lancaster, Mass. 
This gave him an opportunity to realize one of his cherished dreams—to visit 
America—and in 1852 he again left his mountain home to begin work in a new 
land. 

For three years he had charge in this institution of the departments of modern 
languages and drawing, and also, for a time, the mathematical department. It 
was during this time that he wrote his work on perspective, which was published 
in 1857. 

Kriisi was afterwards engaged as a regular lecturer before the Massachusetts 
State Institutes, under the direction, first, of Dr. Sears, and afterward, of Hon. 


1 Reproduced from the Quarter-Centennial Report of the Oswego State Normal and Training 
School. 


: 
: 





A ppendix a2 


George S. Boutwell. This work brought him into intimate association with his 
own distinguished countrymen, Agassiz and Guyot, and also with Mason, Rus- 
sell, Emerson, Northrop, and Tenney, and other well-known educators. It was 
through the influence of these and later friends that, in 1871, Yale College be- 
stowed upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. 

In the Institutes, Kriisi’s subjects were arithmetic and drawing. In the latter 
subject his was truly pioneer work. Only a few educators in the great centers 
had awakened to the importance of drawing as a branch of instruction in the 
common schools, and people generally were much opposed to spending time and 
money on what was considered as only an accomplishment, and useless to the 
common people. 

In 1857 Kriisi accepted a call to become one of the teachers in the State Nor- 
mal School at Trenton, N. J., retaining, however, for the first year, his connection 
with the Institutes of Massachusetts, devoting to them a part of his time. He 
remained in Trenton two years, and then returned to Massachusetts. 

His Institute work was not confined to that State. It embraced New Hamp- 
shire also, and in 1860 and 1861 he did the same work in Ohio. 

In 1862 Kriisi went to Oswego, New York, at the request of Mr. E. A. Sheldon, 
who had established a Training School for teachers, founded upon Pestalozzian 
principles. 

From that time until now (1887), fully twenty-five years, Professor Kriisi’s 
work has been chiefly connected with that of the Oswego Normal School. 

He was first employed to elaborate number, form, and drawing. The 
latter subject he taught and superintended in the Normal School as well as in 
the schools of the city. 

The inventive principle, which induced the pupils to find designs for them- 
selves, was also applied to Geometry, where the members of the class found solu- 
tions for their problems by their own ingenuity, i. e. not with the help of a book. 
This work was very successful, and it was pleasant to witness the animation and 
intelligence of his classes. He also taught Philosophy of Education, including 
Mental and Moral Philosophy, without a book, by appealing to the experience 
and to the reflective powers of the pupils themselves. 

It was to be expected that Kriisi’s mind should be exercised by Pestalozzi. 
As the son of the earliest co-laborer of the great Swiss school reformer, he felt 
it his duty to contribute a share to his better appreciation in America. This he 
did by the publication of a book, entitled Pestalozzi, His Life and Work. 
Another publication, which has reached thousands of schools throughout the 
Union, is Kriisi’s drawing course, the systematically arranged exercises of which 
—based upon a graded evolution of form—have contributed much to what is 
known as “‘Industrial Drawing.” 

The department of Modern Languages, French and German, was also under 
his charge. Although the classes were not large, the instruction given has never 
failed to enlist enthusiasm and intelligent pupils. 

After fifty years of teaching, of which twenty-five have been spent in the 
Oswego Normal School, Kriisi is about to retire from his labors as a public 
teacher. His unfailing health has permitted him to attend to his duties with 
hardly a day’s absence. Moreover, the friendly relations in which he has stood 
to his colleagues and pupils have rendered his task so easy and pleasant as never 


134 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


to deprive him of strength and courage. But duties toward his old home and 
distant members of his family, induce him to leave to younger teachers the task 
of carrying further on the work so auspiciously begun by the unwearied exertions 
of Dr. E. A. Sheldon. 

Mr. Kriisi has so endeared himself to his pupils during the past twenty-five 
years, that his name will be long cherished in living hearts. The clear, simple, 
and logical way in which he analyzed a subject into its simple elements, thus 
opening it up to the understanding, his quiet, conversational manner, and plea- 
sant humor made the conditions for mental activity and growth the best possible. 
Outside of class, too, the pupils had in him a genial, sympathetic friend, in- 
terested in their lives, entertaining and instructive in conversation, and full of 
poetic imagination, which helped others to live in a world idealized by pure and 
noble thought. Added to their respect for his power and faithfulness to duty, 
his simple, modest, and child-like spirit won for him the affection of all. ‘A 
strong or cultivated mind may challenge respect; but there is needed a noble 
one to win affection.” 


APPENDIX VI 


COPY OF THE ACT ESTABLISHING THE TRAINING CLASS 
AT OSWEGO 


An Act! for the support of the Training School for Primary 
Teachers. Passed May 4, 1863; three-fifths being present. 

The people of the State of New York, represented in the Senate 
and Assembly, do enact as follows: 


Section I, The Treasurer shall pay annually for two years on the warrant of 
the Comptroller to the order of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the sum 
of three thousand dollars, for the support of a training school in the city of 
Oswego, for the preparation of primary teachers for the common schools of this 
State, provided that the citizens or the Board of Education in said city, shall, 
within one year from the passage of this act, provide the necessary buildings, 
grounds and other accommodations and appliances for such school as directed 
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and provided further that there 
shall be instructed in said school for a period of at least forty weeks in each year, 
not less than fifty teachers, designing to teach in the common schools of this 
State; and provided further that each of the Senatorial Districts of this State 
shall respectively be entitled to send annually to said training school two first- 
class teachers, each to be appointed by the State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, after they have been duly recommended by two county school 
Commissioners, or by city Superintendent of Schools residing in the district for 
which the appointment is made; and all teachers thus appointed to said Training 
School may receive instruction and training in everything that is taught in said 
school free of charge of tuition. 

Section II. The said school shall be subject to the supervision and general 
direction of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and the Board of Education 
shall constitute an executive committee for the immediate care, management, 
and government of said school, with power to make all needful and proper rules 
and regulations concerning the same, subject to the approval of the Superinten- 
dent of Public Instruction. 

Section III. The executive committee as above constituted, shall annually 
transmit to the Legislature, through the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
a report of their transactions under this Act, including a statement in detail of 
the expenditure of all moneys, together with a statement of the progress and 
prospects of the school, which report shall first be approved by the Superinten- 
dent of Public Instruction. 

Section IV. The first year of said school shall be deemed to commence on the 
day which the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall certify to the Comp- 
troller as the day on which the requirements of the first section of this Act, rela- 
tive to providing the building and other appliances of the school shall have been 
complied with. 


1A copy of the Act establishing the Training School at Oswego. 


136 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Section V. If less than fifty teachers are instructed in said school as provided 
in the first section of this Act, there shall be paid only a corresponding portion 
of the sum appropriated by this Act. 

Section VI. This Act shall take effect immediately. 

STATE OF NEW YORK 
Secretary’s Office 

I have compared the preceding with the original law on file in this office, and 
do hereby certify that the same is a correct transcript therefrom, and of the whole 
of said original law. . 

Given under my hand and seal of office, at the City of Albany, the twenty- 
third of May, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three. 


J. WEsLEY SMITH, 
Deputy Secretary of State. 


=— 


APPENDIX VII 


RESIDENCE DISTRIBUTION OF GRADUATES OUTSIDE 
OF NEW YORK STATE, 1862-1886 


TE ae oe Bc RATINGS, tee tees ell. cal ie be aL 
OI POUCA ae e h4)a alee «one ee 
TORBOEHOUC, oo. ss... Sho P EA EMIANC 2 2's i's.4 a: Made eae 
tS LS Ns kaatlals Vea ee ref ent 7 
DPD eTATIDY ..6 oes es de criss Piney Toint.) 3° 4. 
ES a a WiASSaChUSeLtG sf) susuis'< « aeoley 
DRE MRI ds ne sk 'sw ss eevee I PTC DULY ene tine he RY 
Frederica...... PROSE OU es wheats Sle ea a a fants 
MS ee 55, os ais, wd I2 Oa) CE ee ame We AEN f 
OS re Bast amiptonaicacys 0 aoe mite t ; 
haa a A Newburyport 22.0. ot i 
TS ees Nott hainpton : mr daw isons ae 
ay en Aen als Shelburne sr Pee ee gt ee 
Pe ee es ss dnb Suen ae Sorinietieltl 2 si4..0 70) setae erats 
PE es MOD IIE 6i¢05.. Yu) ampere ea nn col 
EMP ck aie GS is etiasay 4 WLICHIC AT o's diosa Oe oa ee eae. 
Sycamore.... POEIAID SO Sic Ba thst ak ee 
PN ATUL ro yes u's oe ds w sche Crane Dileep he. cena Dae 
UR Sap ER a IICCATIP Ch Se aie 
MIA ete 8.0 nia i ote ele 20 PIRXPOTY faites kates ae 
le GG eae |e Caraga Rapids: .. iia sso 
BRNO hs 0S via inc gee Bey as oT HAT a Ue Ay aR RHR RAL gd 
Oo NS ANS ee age Three Rivers.......... 
Franklin.... VEL RGIE Te lay cer ats Cy ens eae aa 
Guilford..... Holden....... 
Indianapolis. . ep okeey Ie beasi ies). ee a viv we eo oes 
De Se a. ic his 5 hao + Sraalia res See yh Ree Meer a 
ESS a a Newi Hampshire... 22x 0722018 
REE oe oss nv sable knee MASE tes hnoied fete 
POM PRIDETY e, cio ou hala tdoaia ie New Jersey...... 
Ooh 2 aR ee ee DEVE e a Sai vas a a eS 
Merrett tet So ts ee ays Bloomfield......... 
POET oth Sia en a Vw ahaly CROSEWICK Bis. inna smug 
Spiceland..... Haddonfield......... Bae 
aceon, « ..\.. PETSENS CALY «aiden ty Nal e uke « Vie 
ey oh 0 | 2 Wireneliartia Ne goin taca hone ale ah 
Des Moines....... MAME O,) Menara, tin sr then se hale w ite 
OOS i ee ark RiGee vee rel nw'. saint 4 
PIM ei ine 51a a's ae a bsg ats I PaO lh ee eek aie 
(Us chs RS a ALP ONCOM ay ery hi wc hone: acdiq uta eats 
IS Pe Die CHEMO P Pent as eee el a adhe kn ek 
PANTIE IN G8 hse oe ys dss PMO Aeneas Cae Oke 


15 


138 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


AShland Mis oes ve ee I Vermont, :..... 2. oe 
GChilhcother gl lve eee ees Burlington...) +2) eee 
Cincinna tintel Site ae omens 2 East. Berkshire , 44. ole 
Grattonw >. (a. oe ae eee I Essex Junction...» 02... nee 
Greensbtirg: ¢.o/eteu ene I Highgate Center... . 
Baliatic: Gy. alee Oune hy Upata I Isle Lamott... |: 3 
Iheba non. eso rte a et Jericho Center 4. 247 eee 
Mansheldiitta sg sie 4 ae I New Haven. °. ., 220 
MV Ost OW aris Dard UNG ud Ld A I New Haven Mills........... 
Mount: Gilead sin va dlowdaninane North Williston, .1. ee 
NewrLiondon sign ohana Rupert... i. 102... 
Norwalk, Bu tan atten or Ruthnd: eee 
POMETOVS Gai iide foo ae SO 2 Shelburne... .. 
ere Tae Wests Rear Em NA Dar 2 Stowe... 3,2... 
Warlsworthaa cs a4 24:4 ee - Westford, ).0... 2. eee 
DENMSVWIVAN Tay les sce yarn eae E West Rupert: .)o-. 2. (22a 
Allegheny, Cry ski yalten aay er Williston 02: 2 ice 
CAN POI a 4 Ges DN OnE Virginia. $24.42) ee 
CODIIAUS TG Wahi tu eo anne 2 Fredericksburg... .... 5) 22s 
Coonelisville: .. 5) 3. oe I Richmond, »...,.01/4/.. 2.00 
Port Washington /:.2:-.9aeees I West Virginia:. ...2.4. 2) eee 
rernantowns | iyl4 scale 2 Fairmont... 2... 
Havertord seo ene ba sae I Wisconsin..... 
Indiana seek ki ica eee I Beloit) sc. 2. ee 
Kenneth Square. ia. vd Berlin. 0.5.) cca 
Manayunk lt» ar eee I Hingham )353i5 2U eee 
Mea diy rl bet 002 ie) Sues Daron ane I Jamesville, -. <<... 7.4) sseee 
Meriers Oe 80 ve oe I Platteville. .:),..4 2 2200eeee 
Philadelphia args as aed AA del 4 ForEIGN COUNTRIES 
Wego ity pk ee i lide Wa ; Canada... .i<4i4s eee 
EROMIGONGO..'. 22) 1h) teen : 
New Brunswick 
6 ry gos (6 aa gh cn dE I rederickton jn ee 
Rhode: Tela (iti ah tke ee 3 Ontario 
Poster: Center ii sy ool iy sues Bloomfield........ 
other a Erle a8 fone ahd eae , Chippewa. . . st 
Westerly 2 orci. net Sealants Speedside:.) <i aaeae 
mouth). Carolinas) i.4 4.0) alone I Japan... ..s.s.5 2.0 


Charleston. (. o..0) 5504S ee Tokio 


APPENDIX VIII 


RESIDENCE DISTRIBUTION OF GRADUATES BY COUNTIES 
IN NEW YORK STATE 


See es ewia es cue sas 5 
OSES NE 0 giant ear 3 
yy GE Meo AU Ug Ne err 5 
RMN ly Re vc sea a's 8 22 
AO OL TEE a i 14 
SNOT, 5 eh ieee ie ar 22 
OLDS a la 10 
Chemung... 5 
Ne a rr o 
SMNINI  iiiais sich voc dev aime AZ 
RUMEN Soy 8 ERS GS I 
RENAME eo en kx as Sop 8 Bal 6 
(OS ey Ae a a a 4 
DAME eS at’ on gle nas 20 
OT AR ia via a ace a ol bh 10 
ET LR EE RS 5h Rey Ny 5 
VG SoS Se Pe 5 21 
BO et ORE ETE STS E Soy Lies a 
RPCGPE MAS 2. 6 os 6 ns ee 5 


Seemprrritttre fe. te Sede © 
Piamueenineeo oo i intro OG 
BIST CT es es keene cok oN Pd 


ermmGORaIe gio... wiee net's Pads yt 35 
Ue Se ieee lig iRiaag ge en 8 
OLS ss SR a Se 6 
ea 1) ES J A 6 
Re te sos oa ate as 31 
‘he oT ey a re 25 


Me ee ee 
Oe dS G26. 6 ve ee aye cunt 


Ree a Se. dcx edialnowrs 8 


CARON R BT eee oc. Et og 22 
COTATI ART S Ee Fite sc ere ee te EO 
EE Eee Sea ety A ETA BS og GS 
WICAUS eT, stain Face Lie ree 
LE INI ihc eae Sage Ae Pa 2A 
LR LPL ode eS CNEL, aA 
Puta fe. () 
PURO Rn aus eee ee ee 
PR CRSSCIACT Seite stiches nu gata I 
SC DMOtiC ye eats ke Ota eer eee Dy 
ROCKIANG eS aint. 

VE OWIENCEs . s Gsanita er eee 25 
PAERLOGHS Co tte rr Line aa aie ene ae 


PCHETLOCEAUY the tc d bila eee 3 
Senoitarrens am cess eo alee oO 
SCUEVIGT soled coal sak Poe eRe 
malt cree! Wee Se 6 MeO, Soe PeRN Ee 3 
STON DGH kes eae hile Lo eae II 
BORE aie oad cc) 2 5 oo an oe 42 
COU ee SWS as apni eb? 6 
TOG rete ate, (ska hehe bios 6 
OMS Mai eed. 05 Yes sa cua ae 
Lisbeth ts Me ua gent is 
AUE Rie css Bere ty eee gemma tetas ts ARE a 
WV RDN SLOT Aa yk os ARR ti a loti as 13 


NV AVOCA ec en oy tc Gs Sard eee NE be 
NV eRtCNeSter ce Ok ens kesey 
WAS OTIIS acetals ch be nia sinha Meals 
SEAT Pas SPEER 2 RIP ines AL AGMA LANL ES TEN 


PINGCHOGCA LO ets. cutee ci aaa 27 
Older. dea amir e ka ne Ota 1076 


* Not located by counties in the Rand and McNally International Atlas. 


City or Town 
Acra 

Adams 
Addison Hill 
Albany 
Alexander 
Amity 
Amityville 
Amsterdam 
Antwerp 
Apalachin 
Aquebogue 
Armagansett 
Attica 
Auburn 


Babylon 
Baiting Hollows 
Baldwinsville 
Ballston 
Barrytown 
Batavia 

Bath 

Bay Shore 
Beekman 
Belleville 
Billings 
Binghamton 
Blodgett Mills 
Blue Point 
Brewerton 
Bridgewater 
Brier Hill 

- Broadalbin 
Brockport 
Brooklyn 
Buffalo 
Bushnell Basin 


Callicoon Depot 
Camillus 
Canajoharie 
Canandaigua 


Suffolk 


APPENDIX IX 


NEW YORK STATE RESIDENCE DISTRIBUTION OF 
GRADUATES OF 1862-1886 


County Number 
Green 
Jefferson 
Steuben 
Albany 
Genesee 
Orange 
Suffolk 
Montgomery 
Jefferson 
Tioga 
Suffolk 


Wyoming 
Cayuga 


Suffolk 


se i Se NY se OND & & SB eS HD 


Onondaga 
Saratoga 
Dutchess 
Genesee 
Steuben 


Dutchess 
Jefferson 
Dutchess 
Broome 
Cortland 
Clinton 
Onondaga 
Oneida 
St. Lawrence 
Fulton 
Monroe 
Kings 
Erie 
Monroe 


_ 
= COR A Se & NSH SH OW S&S & NW SB DY SB SD SY 


Sullivan 
Onondaga 
Montgomery 
Ontario 


= GQ = 


City or Town 
Canastota 
Candor 
Canoga 
Canton 

Cape Vincent 


Carpenter’s Eddy 


Carthage 
Castle Creek 
Catlin 

Cato 

Cayuga 
Cazenovia 
Cedar Lake 
Center Moriches 
Central Islip 
Chapinsville 
Charlton 
Chatequgay 
Chaumont 
Chazy 
Cicero 
Clarendon 
Clarence 
Clay 
Clayton 
Cleveland 
Clifton 
Clinton 
Clockville 
Cohoes 
Colosse 
Cooper’s Plains 
Cooperstown 
Coopersville 
Copake 
Coram 
Copenhagen 
Cornwallville 
Cortland 
Cuba 
Cuddebackville 


County Number 
Madison 

Tioga 

Seneca 

St. Lawrence 
Jefferson 


Jefferson 
Broome 


Cayuga 
Cayuga 
Madison 


Suffolk 
Suffolk 


2 

I 

I 

2 

2 

I 

4 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
Saratoga I 
Franklin 5 
Jefferson I 
Clinton 5 
Onondaga Dp 
Orleans I 
Erie I 
Onondaga 2 
Jefferson 3 
Oswego 2 
Richmond I 
Oneida I 
Madison I 
Albany I 
Oswego 2 
Steuben I 
Otsego I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

4 


Columbia 
Suffolk 
Lewis 
Greene 
Cortland 
Allegany 
Orange 


City or Town 
Danby 
Deerfield 

De Kalb 
Deihi 

Dexter 
Dobbs’ Ferry 


Earlville 

East Avon 
East Bloomfield 
East Clarence 
East Coldenham 
East Dickenson 
East Durham 
East Greene 
East Groveland 
East Kendall 
East Norwich 
East Palmyra 
East Rush 
East Setauket 
Eaton 

Elba 
Elizabethtown 
Elmira 

Elton 

Evans Mills 


Fairdale 
Fayette 
Fentonville 
Fishkill 
Forestport 
Fortsville 
Frankfort 
Fredonia 
Frewsburg 
Friendship 
Fruit Valley 
Fullerville 
Fulton 


Geneseo 
Geneva 
Georgetown 
Glendale 
Gorham 


A ppendix 


County Number 


Tompkins 
Oneida 

St. Lawrence 
Delaware 
Jefferson 
Westchester 


Madison 
Livingston 
Ontario 
Erie 
Orange 
Franklin 
Greene 


Livingston 


Nassau 
Wayne 
Monroe 
Suffolk 
Madison 
Genesee 
Essex 
Chemung 
Cattaraugas 
Jefferson 


Oswego 
Seneca 
Chautauqua 
Dutchess 
Chautauqua 


Herkimer 
Chautauqua 
Chautauqua 
Allegany 
Oswego 

St. Lawrence 
Oswego 


Livingston 
Ontario 
Madison 
Queens 
Ontario 


I 
2 
I 
2 
I 
I 


= = = se DW NY S&S S&S SBS SS SS SS OS Oe Oe le UW 


ee een Or a | 


PIP 4 


City or Town 
Gouveneur 
Gowanda 
Grahamsville 
Granby Center 
Great Bend 
Greenport 
Greenwich 
Greigsville 


‘Groton 


Hannibal 
Hamilton 
Hammondsport 
Hastings 
Havana 
Haverstraw 
Henderson 
Hemlock Lake 
Herkimer 
Highland 
Holland Patent 
Holley 
Honeoye 
Honeoye Falls 
Hoosick Falls 
Horseheads 
Hubbardsville 
Hughsonville 
Huguenot 
Hunter 
Huntington 


Ilion 
Irvington 
Islip 


Jamaica 
Jamestown 
Jamesville 
Jericho 
Jerome 
Johnstown 


Keeseville 
Kingston 


I4I 


County Number 


St. Lawrence 


Cattaraugas 
Sullivan 
Oswego 
Jefferson 
Suffolk 
Washington 
Livingston 
Tompkins 


Oswego 
Madison 
Steuben 
Oswego 


Rockland 
Jefferson 
Livingston 
Herkimer 
Ulster 
Oneida 
Oreleans 
Ontario 
Monroe 
Rensselaer 
Chemung 
Madison 
Dutchess 
Orange 
Greene 
Suffolk 


Herkimer 
Westchester 
Suffolk 


Queens 
Chautauqua 
Onondaga 
Nassau 


Fulton 


Essex 
Ulster 


Kinney Four Corners Oswego 


2 
10 


== hh = = Se WZ 


_ 
oO’ 


NWese NAR BR HY DN BN SH NNN NAN 


mi \O 


aS 


— = = ae me ND 


—_ 


142 


City or Town 
LaFayette 
Lamb’s Corners 
Lasander 
Laurens 
Lawrenceville 
Ledyard 
Lenox 
Lewiston 
Liberty 

Lisle 

Little Falls 
Liverpool 
Livonia Center 
Lockport 
Locust Grove 
Logan 

Lyons 
Lysander 


Macedon 
Madrid 
Maine 
Mallory 
Malone 
Mamaroneck 
Manayunk 
Manlius 
Mannsville 
Marathon 
Marcellus 
Martville 
Mattewan 
McGraw 
Melville 
Memphis 
Meridian 
Mexico 
Middleville 
Miller Place 
Milton 
Minetto 
Mohawk 
Mounthope 
Mount Vernon 
Moscow 
Mumford 


County Number 


Onondaga 


Onondaga 
Otsego 

St. Lawrence 
Cayuga 
Madison 
Niagara 
Sullivan 
Broome 
Herkimer 
Onondaga 
Livingston 
Niagara 


Schuyler 
Wayne 
Onondaga 


Wayne 

St. Lawrence 
Broome 
Oswego 
Franklin 
Westchester 


Onondaga 
Jefferson 
Cortland 
Onondaga 
Cayuga 
Dutchess 
Cortland 
Suffolk 
Onondaga 
Cayuga 
Oswego 
Herkimer 
Suffolk 
Ulster 
Oswego 
Herkimer 
Orange 
Westchester 
Livingston 
Monroe 


ms NO me WO ~ = ND = S&S S&S SB NY SS OM SR SS eS DD 


=) 


DO == DS S COW NUN W SS S&S ORD WD SH HS SS 


City or Town 
Naples 

Nanuet 
Newark 
Newark Valley 
New Bremen 
Newburgh 

New Haven 
Newport 

New Rochelle 
New York 

New York Mills 
Northampton 
North Bangor 
North Barton 
North Butler 
North Greece 
North Hannibal 
North Hebron 
North Lawrence 
North Sterling 
North Volney 
Nyack 


Ogdensburg 
Oquaga 
Oneida 
Oneida Castle 
Orwell 
Osceola 
Oswego 
Oswego Center 
Otego 

Otto 

Oxford 


Palatine Bridge 
Parish 
Peconic 
Penfield 
Penn Yan 
Phoenix 
Pierce 
Plattsburg 
Plattekill 
Poolville 
Port Byron 
Port Chester 


The Oswego Movement in American Education 


County Number 


Ontario 
Rockland 
Wayne 
Tioga 
Lewis 
Orange 
Oswego 
Herkimer 
Westchester 
New York 
Oneida 
Fulton 
Franklin 


Monroe 
Oswego 
Washington 
St. Lawrence 
Cayuga 
Oswego 
Rockland 


St. Lawrence 
Broome 
Madison 
Oneida 
Oswego 
Lewis 
Oswego 
Oswego 
Otsego 
Cattaraugas 
Orange 


Montgomery 
Oswego 
Suffolk 
Monroe 
Yates 
Oswego 
Cattaraugas 
Clinton 
Ulster 
Madison 
Cayuga 
Westchester 


nS Se OW NY SS Se Se Se RN eS NOP OS RS OR OR Oe 


No & & & BO Se Se OI me CO 


aS = OD HH Os = NY WN ND & WD 


City or Town 
Port Jefferson 
Port Leyden 
Port Ontario 
Potsdam 
Poughkeepsie 
Prattsburg 
Preble 
Pulaski 


Redwood 
Richfield 
Richville 
Riverhead Suffolk 
Rochester 
Rodman 

Rome 

Rondout 


Salem 
Sandburg 
Sandy Creek 
Sanford 
Saranac Lake 
Saratoga 
Savannah 
Sayville 
Schenectady 
Scipioville 
Scriba 
Searsburg 
Seneca Falls 
Shushan 
Skaneateles 
Smiths Basin 
Sodus 

South Addison 
South Bangor 
South Butler 
Southold 
South Richland 
Spencer 
Springbrook 
Spring Valley 
Springville 
Sterling Center 
Sterling Valley 
Stittville 
Stockholmville 


A ppendix 


County Number 
Suffolk 
Lewis 
Oswego 

St. Lawrence 
Dutchess 
Steuben 
Cortland 
Oswego 


ON ® = DH BS SD 


Jefferson 
Otsego 

St. Lawrence 
Suffolk 
Monroe 
Jefferson 
Oneida 
Ulster 


= 
N ) NY &® CON HS 


Washington — 


Oswego 
Broome 
Franklin 
Saratoga 
Wayne 
Suffolk 
Schenectady 
Cayuga 
Oswego 
Schuyler 
Seneca 
Washington 
Onondaga 
Washington 
Wayne 
Steuben 
Franklin 
Wayne 
Suffolk 
Oswego 
Tioga 

Erie 
Rockland 
Erie 
Cayuga 
Cayuga 
Oneida 


mm NO HWW S&S & DY S&S SS S&S eS HY DY & DY BS BO BWP ND ND SBS BH BS HS BS 


City or Town 
Stony Brook 
Swanton Center 
Syracuse 


Ticonderoga 
Theresa 
Trenton 


Unadilla Forks 
Union Springs 
Upper Aquebogue 
Utica 


Vergennes 
Versailles 
Victor 
Volney 


Wadhans Corners 
Wakefield 
Walton 
Wappinger’s Falls 
Washingtonville 
Waterboro 
Watertown 
Waterville 
Watkins 
Webster 
Weedsport 
Wellsville 

West Bangor 
West Brookville 
West Candor 
Westchester 
West Deer Park 
West Eaton 
Westfield 
Westhampton 
Westmoreland 
West Schuyler 
White’s Corners 
Wilna 

Winfield 
Wolcott 
Woodville 
Woodstock 
Wright’s Corners 


Yonkers 


143 


County Number 
Suffolk I 

I 
Onondaga 2 


Essex 2 
Jefferson 
Oneida 


— 


Otsego 

Cayuga 
Suffolk 
Oneida 


oO nN 


Cattaraugas 
Ontario 
Oswego 


WwW No = & 


Essex 
Bronx 
Delaware 
Dutchess 
Orange 
Chautauqua 
Jefferson 
Oneida 
Schuyler 
Monroe 
Cayuga 
Allegany 
Franklin 
Sullivan 
Tioga 
Bronx 


Madison 
Chautauqua 
Suffolk 
Oneida 
Herkimer 
Madison 
Jefferson 
Queens 
Wayne 
Ontario 
Ulster 
Niagara 


= = BW Se Se Se NY DY DY WO SB BS SS DY BS SS SN SoS SS SS DY SS 


Westchester 


Ke) 


The Oswego Movement in American Education 


144 


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OSIMSCO 32 
sarjnq [euorssajoig 


doUsTIOdxy SNOAd1g 


SUIUIVIT, [PUOISSIJOIg 
pue dIysejoyas 


quoujuloddy 
jo ouIT]T, 7e asy 


ODAMSO LV SHILA IVNOISSHAONd YWIAHL ANV ‘AONAINAdXa 


8c WoprPeys Unsny prepay 
Lt souof ‘J “A Joressiepy 
ouIeN 


JNIHOVAL SNOIADAd YIAHL ‘ONINIVUL TWNOISSHAOUd GNV OILSVIOHOS 
UIGHL AHIad NI ONIAIO ‘9881 OL 1981 WONA NOG TAHS ‘Yd HLIM GHANAS OHM 
TIOOHOS ONINIVUL GNV TIVWUYUON ALVLS ODAMSO AHL AO SUHANWAW ALTNOVA AO LSIT V 


xX XIGNHddV 


145 


A ppendix 











*sJOOYIG O3aMsGQy 
*piosa1 ayluyop ONN 94} UI Jayoeay AeUIIIg “Apnjs 9}eALIg JaACIG UIT] 
*(souof sstyy jo sjidnd suru 
}SIY VY} JO BUG) JOOYIS *ZQQI [OOYIS 
sIpelg 3y} jo ow Sulurely,) pue [ew4i0oN 
-ywedsq Aiewlg o2} 9181G OSaMSQ ‘IOI 
UI OID pue jedourug OoyIS Ys OSaMsQ- - staeg “HH 2ey 
‘T1eH Surpsrog 
JeuloNy jo ssa.1qdao 
1g *9}0 « ‘a0uepudaz}e ‘9S, ‘a8a] 
‘diysiejoyos jo spi0del -[OZ [eUulION a3e1g Aueq 
yday “spoyiey, pue adens TV ‘93nNWsuy «[eseqryT 
-uey] jo tayseay, “JooYyIS uoqwuy) “A “N ‘q¥OeAN 
Sululely, oy} Ul OINWID *‘sfooyog AjID O8amMsCQ, ‘a4NYWYsuT = a JswopseP] ZZ Jadoo7 ‘Ss epyeyy 
"(JooysSg 
JewsoNN 243 jo yedro 
-UlIg se uoplaYys “iq pa 
-psa09nS) ‘soryewoy ep *"sJooysS dIqng ‘yIOX MON 
ul JOJONI}JsUT “JOOYIS O8aIMsO UI [edioulig “yIOX Ul Juapnys [eoipayy ‘ZV, ‘d'Pd (‘u0H) 
go1}oeIg oy} jo [edioulg MON ‘aT[IAVePY Ul Jayoeay, ass8afjop [ew4oN Aueqiy Jayonog *g Iees] 
OZaMSCO 3e doUITIadxy SNOIAIIg Sululely [euoissajolg usuljuroddy oueN 


satjnq [euoIssajoig pue o1sejoyss jo owIT, ye oy 





The Oswego Movement in American Education 


146 


"g4gI polqd 
(YIOX MaN ‘eIuOperyz 7e 
Jooyos Surure1y, pue jew 
-ION) 9381S 94} Jo yedto 
-UlIg owmeos0q 6981 UT 
‘(st ¥) saouatag jo Ja 
-yoea} pue Jojseyy pray] 


PES AY: 
‘ATeuIWIaG eIUsWIY JO 073IG 


“K ‘N ‘uoqyweysuig ‘Areu 
-Iuwi9g euueyenbsns jo 0}3IG 
‘KR ‘°N ‘uoyny ‘Areuturas 
Ajy[e.y Jo yedroursrg *Areuruies 
eBIAOUSZeD UI sadUIIIG jo 
Jayseay, ‘Areurwag ued 
“Sam ‘InausAnor yedrourig 
‘Ajunoy sudem ‘Awopeoy 
YIID pey ul Jayoeay, *1043 
-n} ayeAtIg “AjuNOs eSOIT 
‘AWapeoy sejoyoIN [edourg 





*ATCUTUIIS 


PIAOUIZP-) ‘saqoan(dy 


A}ISIOA 


“Tuy uesajsom “WIN (‘UOH) 
‘ada][OD vesaUeyy ‘q’q (‘UOF{) 


Suol}suIy “A uyot 





‘Sggr ur 
Yyjeep sty [IquN 69gI wor] 
sjooyss oqng Oos8aMsCQ 
ey} jo uapusjuttadns 
Jaye] "Sorqeloy}e 
pue Sunij, jo Jayoray, 


eS Bt 
OS9MSQ. 94} «UT =JaYyovay 
*ATCUTULIS eIAOUIZE7) CU 
Jayseay, “Awoapeoy ooroayy 
ul Jayoray, ‘sivaA [eiaAas 
sjooyos 4OII}sIp ul JayoOVay, 


‘AUIOPBOY OOTXd] 


sej3noq ‘x [311A 





"SYO0q}x9} 
Aydeis098 JO solias & jo 
uoneredaid oy} ul ‘f ‘NY 
‘uo}Q0UIIg Jo 30An+) pjou 
-IV. YUM paze1oqeyjo7 
‘Aydeisoaxy Jo sayoray 


gsc Gas 
YSIp{ OS9MSC IY} UI JayOVIT 


"ES, ‘ada]OD 
JeW4ION 923e1G Aueqy 


yWWs sMoy Arey “sIpy 





*(sauof sstyAy Jo 
sjidnd ouru 4siy oy} jo 
aug) ‘sse[j sururery 
osaMsQ 94} UI JYysney 


"ZQBI “TOOYIS 
SululelyT, pue |[ew4i0N 
a1e81G O8aMsSQ *AjOIeA 
-id pue jooysg ys 
OSIMSCQ) VY} UI psIpnqis 


ajouuny ‘g epueury 





OZ9MSQ 7 
soljnq [eUuOoIssajoig 


voUdIIedxy SNOTAVIg 


SUIUIeIT [VUOISSIJOIg 
pue dI1ysejoyoS 


quewjuloddy 
jo ou], Je a3y 


oule Ny 


~ UA ae 


147 


A ppendix 


*‘p100901 ON 


Jooysg eo1}vVIg 9y} UI 
Jaya} se paUInjel 19}e'T 
‘(IA I) JOOYDS soI}0NeIg 
[PPO 942 jo jedrourg 


*JOOYIS 991} 
-9eIg 94} jo JusWIedaq 
Jorunf{ Ul Jayoee} 91ND 


5 Sas Sa) 
SuIuIely] 94} Ul SIsnyy 


‘WOW pue SUI 
-MPIC] SUIYILI} UT IsNIy 
‘IX 0} Jue}sisse pue 
Jooysg [eorjoeig 9y} UI 
Jadooz sstjT 0} Jue ISISSY 


OZIMS() 32 
sorting [eUOIssajoig 


*JOOYIS Sul 
-ulely JAOdyoo1g Ul Jayoeay 
‘sjooyods oyqnd ul Jayoeay 


*‘s]OoyIS oIIqng 


O3aMSQ 94} UI JayIeIT, 
Cg ipatas Raiwad bie 
o8aMsQ) 9Y4} UI JIyOVayL 


*[OOYNS JII}sIP & UT JayOVAT, 


‘(sauof sstyq jo 
sjidnd suru 4siy ay} Jo auQ—) 


goudTIadxq SNOTAIIg 


HAS? 
‘fooy9G = SulUIeIT, pue 
[eULION, 9181G O8aMSKO 


L9, ‘JOoyDS 
Suluiely, pue  yeur 
-ION 9781 OSIMsSGQ, ‘ens 
-Tepueuey ye Areuruas 
(S8IPpe’T “S[OOYIS 9}eATIG 


"Eg, “JOOYDS 
Sululely, pue [ew 
-ION 9381 OSIMSO °*Z9, 
‘JOoyIS  YsIT{T O8aMsCO 


"sseyAl ‘PloyIso MA, 
‘JOOYIG + [eULION 93e1S 


“Sogt ‘Jooyog sururery 
pue [ew4Id0N 2701S 03am 
-sQ ‘Apnjs o}evAtid pue 
JOOUIS YsI_, OsamMsC 
“ATCUIWIIG + UMOSIIY AA 
Auwlapeoy OJITxIWPW 


SuIUTeIT, [VUOISSIJOIg 
pue o1}sejoyoIs 


PoomM T]IseH “IW Yeres 


AsUPY MM “VY sursay.e) 


IZ quelg ‘fy asino7T 

yo1sueg Arauays) Uesns 

vz subjiog “q Areyy 
quourjuroddy sue NT 


JO OWI, 38 a3y 


"Z9, ‘Jooyss sutures Ly, 
pue jyewioN 9231S 
*sfooyos o1qng osamsg ‘Aulapeoy pur] 
p10901ON ‘A 'N ‘YORAN 94} ul doyoeay -310D ‘Aulapeoy sJowopy uUPMS |[e}] “YW esuesijoq 





‘Lg, ‘Jooysg Bururery 
pue [eUulION 23e1¢ 08 
-amscQ) “Aulopeoy erAou 
‘PZ, [UN JayOR|} SPID ‘sjooyos JorjsIp ul JayIVay, -azeD ‘Awlopeoy JoWIOTFy Jaquing sq "Dd eyqseyy 





*APISIOAIU () 

‘O39MSQC 0} ‘adpriquies) ‘aSa][0D 

‘UBSIYSIP, WO, pauinjol 1o}e] pue ‘Ag[saqfaA, UreyUMINY 3e~ paipnys 

uolzenpeis Jaye AIO 0} }UIM Udy} ‘OSaMsH UI dW} pue peRoIqe pajaaely 

-sIy pue ‘Auejog ‘yaoIs) Yoys e jYys8ne} AyssoATUQ “AUSJOATUA_, = UeSIYOTPY 

uljeyT jo Jayors} OSaM URSIN Wo uoenpeis ‘JooysG Sulurely pue 

SO }SY ‘oinjeloy] pue Jay  ‘adazjod AajsayfaAy [eWION 23e1G OSaMSC 
A10}sIY JO Jayoea} TBgI UT 3e AOJIFY JO JOSsaJoIg “JOOYIG YSIT{T o8IMsO saureg uopjays Arey 





“CZgI [9 
-un dinjelayW] pue ‘o110 
-Joyy ‘uorjIsoduroy jo 
qusutzIedaq 9} Jo as1eyo 


The Oswego Movement in American Education 





UIAIZ SEM Ja}eT “[OOYIS *JOOYIS 

SuIuIely] 94} Ul SOIWLWID Sululely pue — jew 

jueysissy pue yuoujied -ION 9381S OSaMSQ ‘99, 

-aq Areiqiy url jue\sIssy ‘OoyIS YS, O8IMSC QI Suoisuiy *f yeres 
O3IMSK 12 aousliadxy SNOTAIIg Sululely [euOoIssajoig usujuloddy oWIeN 


148 


saijnq jeuorssajoig pue o1}sejoyoS jo ou], Je a3y 


149 


Appendix 











"IZ, ‘JOoysS 
*JOOYIG Sur ‘Jooyss Bulurely, pue [eulIoN 
-ulely], 94} Jo Juawjied suipieoq sarpe, SsunoA pue 923e}1G O8aMSQ = “gOgI 
-9q iolunf{ Ul JuejsIssy [OOYS aseI]IA e UT Jayoeay ‘JOoYydS [e1jJUa>) OTeYNgG AIUYIIIS Jun “MA Arey 
‘spidey pueis) Ul sjooyosg jo 
"ydng Jooyss YystH (Yor) 
(‘si %{1) aouaI0g [eo spidey pueiry jo yedmurg 
-IWiaya pue jesskyg jo ‘Awapeoy esepuoug pure *@Sgr ‘a8a]joD uoT 
quatujyiedsq jo asieyd jpooyos ONYsIP ul Jeyoeay -uPyQ ‘AWwapeoy pueyzi0; Le. 3u013S ‘VY UIMpy 
(‘st 91) ‘eg ‘erydjep "eg ‘erydjap 
‘p1ose1 ON[ = -e[IY_ ul sjooyos jo [edioulig -e[Iyg Jo jooysg oyqng ze uevky Arley 
(84, O82]10D ee 
Wwol1j pojyenpeis 103e7T) Lae 
‘Auejog pue ‘yaaIn ‘ul ‘jooyIG 1 sulurely, pue 
-yeT ‘A1OJSIFT JO Jayoray [PWION 937815 O3aIMSCO Joqy “‘W Weyl 





"JOOYISG AjaI9 
-OG solueyoayy [edioulig * x 
"N ‘arenbs uozsulysep, uo 
jooysg Suluuey pue y1eID 
ey} Ul uljey] pue yaeID jo 
Jayseay,, ‘AWapeoy wepssjs 
‘uljey pue -wy 9y} jo [edrioursg “Apejsa 
yooty ‘reurery ysjsuq  -uayds ul JooYydS A1ozeIedaIg Cq'V) a8ajop uoruy ; 
UI YIOM 9Y} JO adIeYyD aS8alJOD uoluy e jolediung ‘Awopeoy ppeyuey uapue}jnIy “Y praeqg 





OZaMSO 3e dousIIadxy SNOIAIL SUIUIVIT [eUOIssajolg Jusutjuroddy oweN 
soaring [euorssajo1g pue o1ysejoyaS jO OUT], 3e asy 


The Oswego Movement in American Education 


150 


‘orYyO “WeuUTUTD “TOoyIS 
Sululely pue [eulIoN AyD jo 
quowjIedsq so10e1g jo jed 





-lDULIg pue [ooYyss JeWIWeIX) "€Z, pue 
jo yediung ‘2321S "A ‘N69, ‘Jooyds suturery pue 

‘spoy}eyT JO Joyovay, jo sfooyos o1jqnd url Jayovay, [eULIONY 2}3e1G OSIMS— IZ Sully ‘yf Arey 
Den 


‘uojsoullg ‘uorjnzIWsUyT 
ueliayAqsetg “AN ‘ayia 
-ayjoprey )«=—s_ ‘Aeururas 





‘OISNJAT JO Joyora TL doUdIIJUOT =- JSIPOY JAP of ysinyysieg ©) uyof 
‘preAalepY pue "99, ‘asa][OD 
‘(st 11) ‘ourepy ‘JoyJogq UlopMog }e 9sUlIpsut ulopMog VN (‘uO}{) 
‘sjooy9S jo “ydng ‘(‘siA_ paipnyg “(‘sIA Z) 980] ‘cP, as8aTJOD 
‘(sth b) saoua €1) ‘aureyy ‘Jayjog ‘Awa -[O) UlOpMOg ‘ouleyy qyAraem, =6CWINO(‘U0O#) 
-I9g [eIn}JeN jo JoyoeRay, -peoy s,pjnoyg jo jediurg ‘yoursex ur Awoeproy mip, UeUJayoN [ jarueyyeN “Iq 





‘Auiapeoy sAog 
Aueqiy 24} jo juawyzred ‘cL, pue 
-aq Asojyesredoig oy} ul Jo Of, ‘jooyosg Bulure1y pue 
-yoeay, ‘(JA I) [OOYDS YSIy UID [PWION 93e}G OBIMSCO 
‘uIyey] pue ‘yaeID ‘A10} -}sam & Jo [edtoulg (‘SIA S$) *69, ‘2}NINsSU] 97 eISa]JOD 
-SI]] [elousy jo Joyoeay, sjooyss ysIp ul Jayoray pue Awaepeoy P10jJXO of dIOOPY STARG AIP, “SIT 





"a32] 
‘Apeyoousyog = -[OD) [PULION, 9}e1g Aueq 
ye [OOYDS uoTUy) UT JeYySRaL, -[Y “JOoysS ys CfeyNg 
‘pIOOBION ‘OTeyNg url Jayors} Arewlig pue sjooysg seal ze dy “y Apa 





O3aMsSC 32 QoUsIedxyY SNOIAdig SUIUTeIT [PUOISSajJOIg quowjuloddy oweN 
sorjnq [euoissajoig pue oIjsejoysIS JO ow] Je asy 


I51 


A ppendix 


‘91n} 
-[ND Jeoshyg jo as1eyy 
‘Apog ueumnyzy pue ‘Aue 
-j0g ‘ASoj[0o7 Ul spoyiyy 
‘A30[007 ‘AS8o0jo1sAUg 
jo Jayora} se pauin} ‘UUIJ, ‘EUOUTAA 3e [OOYIS "PL, ‘JOOYIS 
-a1 peroiqe Apnjs pue [eULION UI Joyoeay ‘“eMO] $ [POIPosy ‘APISIOAIU() 
JPAeI] Joy ‘wioy pue ‘yodusArg ‘fooyss Bururery ues ‘souof sstfy 
Aydeis008 ‘Auvjog ‘sur AyD JO asieyy ‘sjooyos YA sseyD Burlurery jew 
-peady url spoyjeyy ‘so1} oqnd uojuIsuay pu ‘uUTe -ION 93e%1G OSIMSQ ‘09, 
-seuutAr) ‘SuIpeay oOs[e -WIg MON ‘Pleye[PPlN ‘ploy ‘urewig MaN ‘fooyos 








‘ASojoisAyg jo JayIVay, -VeP{ ‘pjeyiseAA Ul JayoVay, [euloN ynorjo9uU07 297 ‘A Alen 
‘ISN 

[e90A pue Surjjedg ‘uo eae 

-Isoduio7) ‘o110}9YY JO Ja pue 1Z, Jooydg BSuturery 

-yoea} ‘19}eT ‘[OOYIS 991} pue jeulioN  9}e1¢ 

-IeIg ay} Jo Juswiedaq ‘sjooyos ose] O8aMSQO 6K UCN OU 

Jonf ul Only ‘yssy -[IA pue JOIIsSIq UI Joyseay -[ng ‘Areututag Aaley I31s9T ‘V 'O 
"JOOYIS 991} ‘pL, ‘Jooyds sururery 

-eIg 9Y4} Jo Juouysedaq pue |[ewioN 23e1S 

Areullig oy} jo jedi OZ9MSQ “89, “JOOYIS 

-UlIg pue JayoVay IID «= ‘SsfooydS puLWOg Ul Jayoray YsSty (eurepy) pueryi40g IZ QOUIIML’T [Oqes] 





‘JOOYIS Sulurely, 
‘[OoyIS YSIP{ UyJog pue jeulloN  93e1S 
*‘JOOYIS 991} UI JayIVay ‘sjooyss ase] oO8amsgQ ‘gd, ‘(‘SIM) 
-oeIg Jotunf jo os1eyd -[IA pue OLM\sIP Ul JoyoeVay ‘JooyIG Ys ulleg ZZ SUT[JOD JIVMIIS PIA 





O3IaMSQ 3e VoUsTIVdxy SNOIADIg SUIUIVIT [PUOISSaJOIg qusuijuroddy due N 
saijnq [euorssajoig pue osejoyos jO oul], #e os 


The Oswego Movement in American Education 


152 


—————— ee _s — ee ee —— 

















‘el, 
‘jooy9g |= SUIUIeI,, pue 
[WULION’ 3381G O3aMS_O 
‘p10d91 ON ‘au0oN ‘Awapeoy ywodspsa\\ SWIT]IM ept ‘S 
‘quowiyiedsq Arewtig , 
94} jo yediourig “JOoYyIS adr 
Sululely, jo Juawjsedaq ‘jooyIS 1 SuIUIeIy[, pue 
Jotunf{ 94} Ul SID ‘Issy ‘sjooyos o11qnd ul Jaysvay, [eVWION 23e}G OdaMsC_ Japary eyyeyy 
"LInos 
-sIJT ‘Sinqsustie\y ‘JOOYIS 
JeulIONN = aqeIG: Ss STOYOVITL 
"GeN ‘Htag ‘JOOYDS [ePpoyl 
jedioulig =‘eyseiqaN ‘n1ag 
‘JOOYIG [eWION 2}e1G ‘ssost} 
-dao01g ‘sfooydg AD YIOX "IZ, ‘Jooydsg [eWAON 
(‘s14 () SuImerq pue MIN UI JOyORIL ‘JOOYIS 3381G OBIMSGQ ‘SIOUTTI] 
aInzveIsw] jo sJayovay YysiyY uoJUeD UT FIyIVIaT, ‘JOOYIG YSIf{T UoJUeD 14SIeNS UeUIDyIGg euWwy 
*Auoul 
-Ie}y pue ‘uorsoduro;) 
‘ISNJAT [VOOA Jo JOYyoRay, ‘QUON ‘AWopeoy uoiqyy oS Jayeg ‘Ni sowef 
*JooysS a Pay 
go1}oeIg 9} Jo Jusu}Ied ‘fooysG  SsuUIUIeIy,, pure 
-oq Aieuwilig ul Juesissy ‘eyep ON «[PUWION 27e1G OdaMsS_G aMOID “Y ATey 
o3aMSQ) 7e gousiiadxy SNOolAsig SUIUTeIT, [VUOISSaJOIg quswyuloddy aule Ny 
saijnq [euorssajoig pue o1Nsejoyss jo oUIIy, Je asy 


ii it i ee i i a a i i ee 


153 


A ppendix 


Jooyss TeUION ("A “N) "IZ, ‘JOOYIS 

wieps}og sy} Ul Jewel Jo Sululely pue [eu 

(‘sik z) Suimeiq pue seyoray, ‘“Awapeoy ‘YIOX -ION 2321S OSaMSQ °69, 
dIN}eIoWT jo JsyoeVay, MON Binqsuyiepy urstayoeay, YOoySS Yysif{T Os8eMsC ez yoo) ‘y yeNf[ 
Bt a ee me Se ao ae on eg na i ene 

(‘A}ISIOATUL) [[PUIOD 


‘peoiqe porpn}s pue "y's ‘uo}sapIeys) ur Apnys yetseds) “SZ, 
payaaey} Jayeqy “yoory ‘aynqwysuy Ajay ul ulney ‘fooysg Bulurely, pue 
pue unjey jo soyoeay, pue yst[suq Jo JsyoVay, [eUION 3}e}1G O8aMSC UOP]eys “Y SeuPIy 








*JOOYIS 9919 
PIG jo asieyy ‘(4A 





1) Jooysg Arewltg jo "9£, ‘JOOYDS 

jedrourig *(‘s1A z) [OOYIS ‘(‘s14 V) JOOYIG Ieul ~SBuIUIeIy, pue jewIoON 

gorpoeig jo juowjzied -weig jo jediulg ‘(sik 2}e}G O8aMSO ‘AWS 

-aq jounf ur queysissy ) y10M Areutid jo Jayoeay, -peoy (o1ryQ) Ao1oWI0g Joye ‘{ yeres 
perl 


‘JOoyIS [eur -S—T sSayIusg ‘zissesy 

‘uoryeonpy jo Aydoso -10N Lnosstyy 94} Ul JayoRay, jo JUapN}g ‘ARISIOATUL) 
-[lyqg pure Asojstp{ ey jo ‘eyseiqaN ‘niaqg ‘Jooysg pseAIePy “APISIOATU() 
aZiey.) “JOOYIS voIWOVIG [PWION 97e}G JO JoyoRD}] pue pJauoD ‘“g'y ‘asaT[OD 
ay} jo JopsNGg ‘ssous jedmoung ‘org ‘eAsuay Ul[IaqG¢ ‘e8a[OD UlTIEqO 








“9S JeinjeN jo seyD ‘sjooydsg oyqng jo [edioulsg 10; JooyoS AsozesIeda1g of qysieiys ‘py Aruezy 
*[OOYIS 9dI}9eIg 9Y} "gL, 
jo ‘juourjiedeg ozeIpeur ‘sjooydg oqGng ‘YIOK MaN ‘fooysG Burure1y, pue 
-IojU. oy} jo yedioung ‘uojweYysuIg UI JaYyIVay, [PWION a}e}G OSaIMSC_ AdUY MM POR 
OZIMSH) }e goudTIedxy SNoIAeIg SuIuIely, [eUOISsajoIg quowyuloddy ouIeN 


sornq [euorssajoig pue o1ysRjOYyIS jo ou 3e o3y 


‘The Oswego Movement in American Education 


154 


i it ll EE — ee _ ” _ —— ——— eee eee eS  ——— — ee 


08, 
*[OOYDS 901} ‘YIOX MIN ‘[ooyoS Bururery, pue 
~WeIg Ul OIFID Juejsissy ‘s[[eyY YOIsooyy ur JsyIVay [euULION 23e}1G O8aMs_O uO]IWIe}] MOUS “> sIUUeYy 





'6L, ‘Joouss Sururery, 
pue jeulloN 9231S 
OSaMSO ‘eg ‘eIydjape 
“THYq ‘A10}21Q) JO OOYIS 
‘eg ‘A1 ‘oryo ‘plojxg ‘Areu 
‘ToyIeaT, =-uNOD aieMeLIq Ul JoyoVay, -lWeG y[eWIay UID}SOA\ sIsAjl “g eIoWYy 





*JOOYIS 991}9eIg 
oy} Ul YyIOMpue;_T pure 
‘SUIMCIG ‘WIOY JO JOS 
-IAJodng *ASOTeIOUT IN *‘JOOYIS ‘OS9MSC) 
pue ‘Asojooy, ‘vouaIIG yeUulIoNY AjuNOD e09g Ul ye sIeaA OM} VYSILIYS 
Jeyiuey ‘Auejyog jo Ja jooysg so1joe1g ay} jo Jed “ay YIM paipnyg ‘od, 
-yoro}‘1ayeT “Surmeiq jo -fulig suljoy ‘“Jooyos [eur yooydg yeuroN Ayuno; 











Jayoee} pue jusujiedaq -10N Ajunosd eli0ag ul ‘yssy eli0ag "69, ‘fooyaS 
oyiqUsINg +94} Ul “yssy ‘jooyss Areutid e Ul JayoRay = YStPy CIID) P1I0Ig uod}og UPA BSaIIY TT, Yeres 
“bl, pue 
*JOOYIS 991} ‘(sid %V) spooyss oy 1Z, ‘fooyss Sururery pue 
-OeIg Ul JoYyoRa} OID -qng OZaMsC ay} UI JayoORay, [eWION 23e1G O8aMsSG UOSIOWIT TT “W e181094) 
“SUIMeIC, pur "gL ‘ada] 
aINjJeIIYT jo sJayoRay -[OD [BWION YIOX MON = Aa[SOJ Use JoIesieyy 
OSIMSQC) 32 voUsTIodxy SNOIAdIg SUIUICI] [BUOISSIJOIg juswjuloddy owen 
saiynqd Jeuorssajolg pue oIWsejoyIs jo ouIy, ye asy 


155 


A ppendix 


‘(syjuour 7) 
‘jooysG 9 SulUIeIy, pue 





‘I1OJOYY pue [WULIONN 93%1G O8aMSC_ 
‘uorljIsoduro7) ‘youely ‘SseyA] ‘IoJsuTUIONT ‘JooyIS *(jUNpNys [eIdeds) asa] 
‘gin}eloWy] ‘ysy]suq Ysi_{ Ul Joyoeay, ‘puelywog -[Od Agjsaffa~jA “ouleyAy 

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The Oswego Movement in American Education 


156 


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APPENDIX XI 


The following is a sketch of a lesson given as part of examinations 
at the close of the year’s work for training class students at Oswego 
in 1862. 


LESSON ON AN ORANGE—4TH STEP 


It is Natural It is Edible 

It is Vegetable It is Wholesome 

It is Opaque It is Juicy 

It is Foreign It is Refreshing 

It is Impressible It is Spherical 

It is Odorous It is Rough 

It is Sapid It is Reddish Yellow 


DISTINGUISHING QUALITIES 


Foreign 

Rough 
Spherical 
Reddish yellow 


Conceal the object and address the children. I have something in my hand 
‘—man did not make it; God made it. What therefore can you say of it? It is 
natural. This natural vegetable object also grows out of the ground. What 
can you again say of it? It is vegetable. This natural vegetable substance 
is also opaque, foreign, impressible, odorous. See that the children understand 
the meanings of the terms given, and can apply them to any object which they 
may mention, as having these qualities. If they should name a peach or a plum, 
however, let them apply all the terms and see in what it does not agree. If not, 
however, name a few more qualities as sapid, edible, wholesome, juicy. Let the 
children again try to determine the object, proceeding as before, and if still unable 
name the remaining qualities. When the object has been determined let the 
children name the quality first mentioned. Lead them to discover the object. 
When all have agreed, put those qualities on the board, beside those previously 
mentioned, and let the children make a sentence containing these distinguishing 
qualities. 

Summary. Let the children name the qualities from the board, also read 
the sentence, S. R. If time permit, let them reproduce lesson on their slates. 


Kate H. Davis 


APPENDIX XII 


The following is a copy of the directions governing the conditions 
of an examination in School Management given to candidates for 
infant school certificates, and a list of the questions given in 1860. 
This is typical of the examinations given by the Home and Colonial 
Training Institution at the end of the period of training. 


EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATES FOR INFANT SCHOOL 
CERTIFICATES. MICHAELMAS, 1860 


School Management 


Three hours allowed for this paper. 

Candidates may select any questions. 

Write the first line of your answer as a specimen of copy setting in 
large hand; and the first line of your second answer as a specimen of 
copy setting in small hand. 


1. Explain clearly the best method of teaching each of the following subjects: 
elementary reading, place, and form. 

2. Explain clearly the objects at which you aim in giving lessons in Natural 
History to children between five and six years of age. 

3. What do you mean by education of the feelings? Give instances to show the 
effect of your system upon two children of different dispositions. 

4. What are the general characteristics of children as regards their moral nature? 

5. What apparatus do you recommend for the playground?—show the use of 
such apparatus. 

6. Draw out a time-table for one day in the week and state what proportion of 
time you allow in the course of the week for each subject in the upper division 
of a school of 100 infants. 

7. Describe the kindergarten, and explain its uses. 

8. What registers ought to be kept in an infant school? What are the rules for 
finding the average of daily attendance at the end of the week? 

9. What are the fundamental principles of Pestalozzian system? 

10. What opportunities have you had before or during your residence in this 
institution of observing the work of an infant school? 

11. Explain exactly the course by which a pupil teacher may become an efficient 
assistant in an infant school. 


ce ———— 


APPENDIX XIII 


The following examples taken from Mr. Sheldon’s notes in Miss 
Jones’ lectures in 1861 and from his book entitled Elementary 
Instruction which was published the next year illustrate the at- 
tempt to practice the Pestalozzian principles as he conceived their 
meaning. 


A LrEsson ON NUMBER! 


Alesson to develop the perception of the number expressed by the word 
“three,’”’ and to communicate the name of the number. 

The following sketch of a lesson will show the plan to be pursued with all 
numbers as far as ten. Before commencing a lesson on number which is new to 
the children, the teacher should ascertain that they have clear ideas of those on 
which they have already received instruction. In this instance it is supposed 
that the number two has been the subject of a lesson, and is thoroughly under- 
stood, and that the teacher tests this by directing one of the children to bring 
two pencils, or two books, etc. While the others look on observantly, and approve 
or otherwise, as the case may demand. If the requirement be rightly met, the 
class may simultaneously describe the objects as they are presented, saying, 
““Two pencils,’’ ‘‘Two slates,’’ ‘‘Two books,” etc. Here also the objects should 
be diverse. 

With this attainment made, the class may be led on to the observation of the 
number Three. 


1. The teacher should now add one pencil to the two pencils, one slate to the 
two slates, or one book to the two books, and as this is done, require the children 
to say, in each case, ‘‘Three pencils,’’ ‘‘Three slates,’’ ‘‘Three books,’’ etc. As 
an exercise, groups of three of different objects may be placed before the class, and 
one of the children desired to bring a similar number of the same object, or of 
some other. When observation has been well exercised by varied examples of 
this kind, the children may again be told that such a number of any object what- 
ever is called three of it, and that the name of that number is THREE. 


2. The teacher should then try to discover how far the children are able to 
connect the word three with the corresponding number, by calling upon several 
of them in rotation to bring three pencils, or three books, or three pins—to bring 
three of their companions to the teacher, to hold up three fingers or to clap their 
hands three times, etc. 


3. The object of the next exercise is to ascertain whether the children can 
promptly apply the proper name to the number, when presented to them in 
different objects. The teacher may hold up three fingers and ask how many are 
held up, and then take up three pencils, and again ask how many there are, or 
make three strokes upon the slate, and ask how many such a number of anything 
is said to be. 


1 From Elementary Instruction by E. A. Sheldon. 


160 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


It may confirm ideas already gained as to the succession of numbers, if the 
children are required to tell in regular succession those they have acquired while 
the succession is enacted, as it were, by the teacher. Several sets of objects should 
be at hand, from each of which the teacher takes first one, then a second, then 
a third; the children saying, as this is done, ‘‘One pencil,”’ ‘Two pencils,’ “Three 
pencils;’’ ‘“One pin,’’ “Two pins,” “Three pins,’’ etc. 

This should be followed by an exercise in ascending and descending enumera- 
tion, thus: 

‘Now, altogether say with me, One, Two, Three; and again Three, Two, One. 
And now say the same without me, for I shall be silent.’’ 

In these exercises, which will need frequent repetition, great care must be 
taken not to perplex the children; the perception of number should be permitted 
to grow upon them almost without their being conscious of the attainment. It 
should be attained by simple observation, rather than by a process of reasoning, 
although it is true that at a further stage of the child’s education, it will be found 
that all the higher calculations of arithmetical reasoning are, in fact, based upon 
the knowledge for which it is the aim of those initiatory lessons to prepare. 


A LEsson ON ForRM? 


A sketch to develop the idea of different kinds of roundness. 


1. Let the children compare a marble and a cube. The cube has many sides, 
the marble one. The sides of the cube are flat, that of the marble curved. Tell 
the children that things in shape like the marble are said to be “globular.”” Chil- 
dren find the origin of ‘‘globular’’—also examples, as balls, peas, pills, what 
these are said to be and why. 


2. Present aruler. Let children say how it differs from a globe. It has three 
sides, two of which are flat, tell them that things like the ruler, with one side 
curved and two flat are said to be cylindrical. Give also the term cylinder, get 
examples as pipes, pillars, etc. Children tell what these things are said to be. 


3. Present a ring. Then make a circle on the slate, requiring the children 
to describe what’is drawn, as a curved line, the ends of which meet. Place a dot 
in the center. Let a child with a piece of string measure the distance anywhere 
from the center to the circumference. What they find—give the term circle. 
Tell the children that all things which measure the same distance from the center 
to every part of the circumference are said to be circular. Examples of circles 
found,—tops of inkwells, face of the clock, children tell what things are said to 
be circular. 


4. By experiment lead the children to see that the globe will roll every way 
—the ruler or ring only one way. Why this is. Things which are globular will 
roll on all sides. Things which are circular or cylindrical only on one—the curved 
one. 


5. Children recapitulate the definitions of globular, cylindrical and circular. 


2 From original manuscript of E. A. Sheldon. 


A ppendix 161 


A LEsson ON MEASURING BY THE STANDARD MEASURES OF LENGTH? 


No opportunity should be lost of giving practice to the eye in determining the 
length of objects by these measurements. Children are greatly interested in them- 
selves endeavoring to determine the size of things, and in having their judgment 
tested by actual trial. The children should carefully observe the length of the 
yard, as it is held by the teacher in various positions, and at various distances 
from the eye: they should notice the apparent change which takes place in its 
length under each change of position, that they may be prepared to take this fact 
into consideration when calculating the size of objects in different positions and 
at various distances. They may also be required to find two objects, as two pieces 
of string, or two laths, which are together equal to the yard; thus introducing the 
idea of the half-yard, as being the length of one of these. Again, they may pro- 
duce four similar objects, which, when united, also form a complete yard; and 
thus gain the idea of a quarter of a yard, as being the length of one of these. 

In a further lesson, the idea of a foot may be communicated in the same manner, 
showing that it is the third of a yard; and also the idea of the inch. The children 
should be exercised in determining the relative size of these measures, i. e., the 
‘proportion each of them bears to the yard; and also their positive size, as unvary- 
ing standard measures. 

These exercises may be continued, until the eye can decide on particular lengths 
with tolerable accuracy; after which the children may be called on to determine 
the length of lines combined in various figures; the circumference or girth of 
various objects; they may then proceed to dimensions of greater extent—those, 
for instance, of the floor and walls of the schoolroom, or of the playground. 


Lesson on Coror?* 
Naming red, green, and blue 


I. 1. A child selects a red card according to a pattern shown. Children told 
“This is red’”’ looking at the card meanwhile. Another child to pick up all the 
reds that he can find, the rest deciding, etc. All these are reds. 


2 and 3. Children proceed in the same way with blue and green. 


4. Teacher points rapidly to the different colors, requiring the children to 
name them meanwhile. 


II. 1. Exercises. A child desired to place a green on the table—a blue on the 
desk and a red on the chair. : 


2. Children required to find examples of the colors in dress, furniture, etc. 
3. Teacher arranges the colors in patterns which the children imitate: 


Red Blue Red Blue 
Green Green Blue Green Blue 
Red ‘ Red 


4. Children to place the colors according to direction as: 
Blue, Green, Red, Red, Green, Blue 


3 From original manuscript of E. A. Sheldon. 
4 From original manuscript of E. A. Sheldon. 


162 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


LESSON ON PLAcE® 


Sketch 


I. Representation of the walls of the room without the scale. 

1. Children to name the cardinal and semi-cardinal points; or draw the diagram 
of 8 lines and let the children put the proper initial letters at the end of each. 

2. Invite the children to help in drawing a map of the room. Let them say 
how many sides the room has, and which of these sides lies east, which west, which 
north and which south. Let the children observe the sides of the room further, 
and observe which are long and which short; whether the longer sides be twice 
as long or three times as long; which of the sides are of equal length. 

3. Require the children to point out where on the slate the line shall be drawn 
for the north wall; where for the east wall; what proportion the second line should 
bear to the first as to length. What line must be as long as the first, and where 
it must be drawn. What line as long as the second, and where it must be drawn. 

4. The boundaries being drawn the children should determine the shape pro- 
duced; how far the room itself extends; what the walls are to the room (the bound- 
aries). Lead the children to see that the shape of every space is determined by 
its boundaries. 

5. Children find what points they must notice in order to draw the plan of a 
room. Children say what they must notice when they wish to draw a representa- 
tion of a room. 


LESSON ON ANIMALS® 


The Horse 
Matter Method 
1. A horse has legs, body, head, eyes, 1. Present the picture; let the children 


ears, mane, tail, hoofs. name the parts when pointed to, 
and point to them when named. 


No 


2. A horse has a large round body, . Lead the children to talk about the 
long thin legs, a long handsome parts—give the terms required to 
tail, flowing mane, and upright express ideas—as handsome. Bring 
pointed ears. out pointed by comparing the two 

ends of a cut pencil. Which most 
resemble the ears of a horse? Why? 
Bring out upright by holding the 
pencil in different directions. 


3. A horse can walk, trot, gallop, kick 3. Lead the children to talk of any 
and neigh. Horse walks, trots, actions they have seen the horse 
gallops. What else a horse can perform. Let a boy show how. 
do with his legs. When he does 
this. What sound he makes. 

Terms given. 


5 From original manuscript of E. A. Sheldon. 
6 From original manuscript by E. A. Sheldon. 


Appendix 163 


Matter Method 


4. Refer children to the uses of the 4. A horse can draw a cart or carriage; 
horse. can carry people on its back. 


5. Let the children say who made the 5. We should never treat the horse 
horse; how He likes us to treat it. cruelly, but always be very gentle 
Speak of its usefulness to us and with him. 
lead the children to mention differ- 
ent ways in which they can show 
it kindness. 


LESSON ON OBJECTS 
Leather 


I. Raw material and manufactured article. The children having stated 
from what substance leather is made, examine specimen of the raw material 
and manufactured article—are required to find the qualities of each. The teacher 
tabulating on the slate. 


The skin of animals 1s: Leather is: 

Soft and moist Soft and dry 

Slightly tough Very tough 

When soft pliable, but when dry liable to crack Flexible and elastic 
Porous Dense and waterproof 
Perishable, decaying readily when wet or moist Very durable 

Fatty or oily Without oil 

Hairy Without hair 
Comparatively useless Very useful 


2. Process of manufacture. Children told that they have to discover what 
has to be done to such a substance as skin to change it intosuch a substance as 
leather. 


3. Question on the state of the skin or hide when taken from the animal. Would 
have portions of flesh or fat attached to the inside. Why this must be taken 
away. Refer to the state of meat if kept for some time; would decay and occasion 
foul smells. Children may be told that fat and flesh could not be made into leather. 
Tell them that the first process consists of scraping the skin with a knife, and that 
this is termed fleshing. 


4. What next must be done. Again compare the skin and leather. The first 
has hairs. The children may be told that leather can be made without removing 
the hair. This is sometimes done. But when we want leather without hair for 
shoes, gloves, etc., the hair must be removed at this point. Children to judge 
how this can be done. To mention any ways in which they have seen hair taken 
off skins; shaved, plucked or by scalding—but this is neither shaven, shorn or 
plucked, but the skins are soaked in troughs filled with lime water. This soaking 
so loosens the hair that it can be scraped off—the scraping is done with a knife 
and is called hairing. 


164 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


5. Children say what has been done—fleshing and hairing—the effect of these 
processes. It is still only clean, smooth skin—not leather. Why would it not 
do to use in its present state? What qualities it lacks? (It is not waterproof; 
it is not elastic or durable.) Something must be done to give it these qualities. 
Tell them that it is first soaked in a solution of oak bark; this solution is called tan, 
and the operation is performed in places called tan-yards—in holes in the ground 
which are called tan pits or vats. Where good leather is required they are steeped 
from 12 to 18 months. What the consequence would be if taken out too soon? 
What must be done to them when taken out? They are placed between rollers 
to make them smooth. 

6. Summary. Children say from what leather is made. What are the qualities 
of the raw material and of the manufactured article. By what processes is skin 
converted into leather? Why is the operation of fleshing performed? Why that 
of hairing, also of tanning? 

In conclusion children may be led to admire the ingenuity of man and the good- 
ness of God, who has bestowed on him the material and conferred on him the power 
of adapting it to his wants. 


LESSON ON LANGUAGE’ 


Exercise I 


To form sentences from given words—(1) the name of an object, (2) a word 
expressing quality, and (3) some part of the verb “‘‘to be.” 

Plan.—The children to name a number of objects, beginning, for example, with 
those of the various articles of furniture, etc., in the room; the teacher to write 
these names under each other on the slate, requiring the children to spell each 
word as it is written, assisting or correcting as necessary. 

The children to be then required to say something regarding each object, the 
teacher helping them to determine how far the terms they apply are appropriate. 
The teacher to add these descriptions to the name already on the slate, and thus 
lead the children on to the formation of simple sentences, in their shortest form. 
A few examples follow: 

The ink is black. The slate is smooth. The form is long. That window is 
large. This pencil is sharp, etc. 

The children should then read over the sentences, and be led to observe that 
each begins with a capital letter, and ends with a full stop. The slate may then 
be turned away, and the class required to reproduce the lesson on their own 
slates, without its aid. When this has been done, the slate should be again referred 
to, that they may correct their exercises. 

The children may be supplied with little books, in which to write out these 
lessons at home. For some time they should not be required to originate anything 
for themselves, but merely to reproduce that which has been taught in school. 
They will find pleasure in doing that which they can do well. 

When all the objects in the room have formed the subjects of such lessons, 
those in the playground, the street, or in the fields, may be resorted to, gradually 
extending the circle to more remote objects. At the least a dozen lessons of this 
description should be given. 


7 From Elementary Instruction by E. A. Sheldon. 


Appendix 165 


LESSON ON READING® 
Sketch on Distinguishing Capital Letters I, H & T 


I. Require a child to pick up a letter like I on the card. Let the rest decide 
whether he does right or wrong. If wrong, let another child try and proceed as 
before. Proceed in the same way with H and T. 

2. Put I, Hand T inarow. Leta child select similar letters and place them 
in the same order. Change the order. Let another child imitate, etc. Touch 
the letters and let the children name them. So proceed, always employing some 
as agents and the rest as judges. 


Sketch on the Small Letters 


Children select from the small straight lined letters the letters they think 
most like I. 

Distinguish the z by its dot. Children are told that this is the small or little 7. 
Find the other little 2’s on the Board or Card. 

What small letter is most like this and what will you call it. 

Then tell them to select a letter with a little dot like the small 7. Ask to 
what capital they think this belongs. Tell them if they will put the three letters 
they have found out by the respective capitals, the teacher will put this letter 
by its capital. (The letter is 7). 

The teacher shows the capitals and requires the children to show the small 
letters; then shows the small letters, and requires the children to show the capitals. 


A LATER LESSON ON READING? 


One sound represented by various signs 


The long sound in ais expressed by a in stay, play, etc.; az in stain, plain; ea 
in break, great, yea; et in eight, skein, weigh; ey in obey, they. Thebroad sound of 
a is expressed by al before m, as in calm, balm, qualm, etc.; ar also, as in arm, 
tarnish, farm, barn, etc.; au expresses the broad sound of a in gauntlet, haunt, 
gamut, etc. 

The short sound of 7 is expressed by z asin ermine, bin, din; by y asin sympathy, 
symptom, etc.; also by final y in pony, crony, etc.; ey in money, journey; by 
o in women (the only word); in busy by u, also in the compounds of busy. 


A LrEsson IN MoRAL INSTRUCTION!® 


(Reverence) 


I. 1. Introduction. Let the children name any nation of whom they have heard 

as living a long time ago. They will mention the Jews. Tell them that there were 

other people living at the same time of whom they will learn when they get old 
8 From original manuscript by E. A. Sheldon. 


9 From original manuscript by E. A. Sheldon. 
10 From original manuscript by E. A. Sheldon. 


166 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


enough to study the Bible and other books. These people lived in a country called 
Greece. Point out the country on the map and show its relative position with 
respect to Palestine. Explain that it was divided into several sections called states. 
One of these states was called Athens. The people who lived there were called 
Athenians. Write on board. They were a lively clever people, fond of all sorts 
of games and shows. Another of these states was called Sparta. The people were 
called Spartans. Write on board. They were frugal in their diet and plain in 
their habits. They used to take their meals altogether in the open air, that no 
one might have any nice things that others might not have. 

2. Story told. One day these Athenians were going to have a play performed 
at their chief theatre. All the seats were soon taken, and when the theatre was 
full, an old man came in and looked round for a seat. He was old, infirm, could 
not stand long. (Picture out his distress.) He looked first one way and then 
another and saw several young men who were seated. (What we should have 
done.) He saw some of them beckon to him. What people mean when they 
beckon. What the old man would try to do. What was there to hinder him. Yes 
he had to climb over seats and push through a crowd of people, and when at 
last they reached them, they, instead of giving him the seat he expected, took 
up all the room and laughed at him. How the poor old man must have felt. 
What they think of the young men. 


Il. In this theatre were some seats fitted up for strangers. These were filled 
by young men from Sparta who, when they saw how the Athenians behaved, 
beckoned to the old man to come to them. When he came they all rose up. When 
people rise and why. They not only gave him a seat but received him among them 
with the greatest respect. Young men of Athens, seeing this, could not help 
showing that they were pleased and applauded them. The old man said ‘“‘ The 
Athenians know what is right, but the Spartans practice it.” 


Ill. Lead the children to contrast the conduct of the Athenians and the Spartans; 
that is, who behaved the better. In what respect the Athenians were wrong 
and in what respect right. What feelings actuated the Spartans. Let the children 
mention various ways in which they can show respect and honor to persons who 
are older than themselves, giving up a place, setting a chair, opening a door, 
standing, bowing, speaking in a quiet tone, etc. What we call this behavior. Tell 
them that the young who honor the aged, obtain the favor of God, and let them 
learn the text Leviticus 19:32, ‘‘Thou shall rise up before the aged, and shail 
honor the face of the old man.” 


LESSON ON MorAL PHILOSOPHY" 


Lesson taken from Cowper’s Poem ‘‘The Nightingale and the Glowworm”’ 


The Point—To lead the children to see that God gives to different individuals 
different talents for the general good. 
I. Introduction. Draw from the children such facts in natural history as bear 
on the subject, for example, a short account of the Nightingale and its habits, 
also the Glowworm and its habits. 


il From original manuscript by E. A. Sheldon. 


Appendix 167 


II. The Verses. Read these in separate paragraphs. Put questions on the general 
meaning of paragraphs and sentences, as for example, what had the bird been 
doing? How was it that he became hungry in the evening? What was the sub- 
stance of the Glowworm’s argument? What effect ought such an argument to 
have on the Nightingale? Whose task was it to beautify the night? How? Whose 
to cheer and how? The general meaning being made clear, lead the children to 
consider the special meaning of the more difficult words, such as keen, demands, 
eagerly, hawthorne, crock, admire. Permit the children to explain any of these 
words by synonyms. Endeavor to lead them to see the appropriateness of the 
poet’s words, and the superiority of these over their synonyms. This can be done 
especially with eagerly, spied, right, harrangue, minstrelcy, warbled, etc. It 
is during this part of the exercise that the conceptive faculty is developed. 

III. Explanation. The children being told that this is a fable, conclude that it 
contains a moral lesson. To find it let them mention the subjects of the story 
(The Nightingale and the Glowworm). Children will decide that these mean 
different people. Let them consider what the Nightingale possessed and what 
the Glowworm possessed. The children decide that the song and the light mean 
different talents, or gifts. Compare the fullness and power of the Nightingale’s 
song with a little spark of light. Children decide that talents differ both in time 
and in importance. Children give examples of different kinds of talents, for ex- 
ample, riches, health, strength, mental abilities, beauty, etc. The points of the 
Glowworm’s argument are drawn from the children, and put on the slate thus: 
(1) We admire the Nightingale’s song. (2) The Nightingale ought in like manner 
to admire the Glowworm’s lamp. (3) The selfsame divine power gave to both 
their different gifts. (4) These gifts were given for the general good. The prop- 
Ositions I, 2, 3 having been clearly made out before, four may be illustrated by 
reference to the pleasure and benefit we derive from the works of the highly 
gifted (including the works of the poet Cowper, himself). 

Lastly, refer to the children themselves. Let them mention the subjects of 
study they like best, and again the subjects in which they find themselves most 
efficient. Now those who are quick may be tempted to feel toward those who are 
slow. How those who are slow may be tempted to feel toward those who are 
clever. Lead them to see that almost everyone has some strong points, and some 
weak points, that if they who are strong help a neighbor wherein he is weak, this 
neighbor will aid them wherein they are weak and he is strong. Refer to texts 
that teach this duty, for example, ‘‘Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill 
the law of Christ.”’ 


LESSON ON THE HuMAN Bopy! 
A Sketch for a Lesson on the Difference between the Hand and the Foot 


1. Draw the attention of the children to the difference in the position of these 
two organs; the hand being placed at the upper part of the body at the end of 
the arm, and in a line with it; the foot at the lower part of the body, at an angle 
with the leg. Again, the difference as to form; the hand thin, the palm capable of 
being formed into a hollow cup; and terminating in four long slender flexible 


12 From Elementary Instruction by E. A. Sheldon. 


168 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


fingers ranged in a row, with an opposing thumb which can be brought to meet 
any one of them, so as to pick up or grasp objects. The sense of touch also, as 
being so exquisitely delicate in the fingers, enabling women to do the finest needle- 
work, and men to carry on the most delicate operations. The foot thick and stiff; 
the instep arched for strength; the sole of the foot broad and flat; the toes short 
and thick, the whole five being arranged in one plane. 

2. The use of the hand to lay hold of things; that of the foot to support the 
body when in an upright position, or when moving or standing. 

3. How both these organs are fitted by their position and form for their differ- 
ent offices. The hand, by its thinness and flexibility, being capable of being formed 
into a hollow; its long delicate fingers opposed to the thumb, forming a complete 
organ for grasping and touching; the foot, by its thinness, flatness, and the breadth 
of the sole, by the muscular power of the instep, and by its position, fitted for 
its office of supporting the body in an erect posture. 


LESSON ON WEIGHT!’ 
Second Step 


Object—To lead the children to perceive the necessity for adopting standard 
measures of weight, and to make them practically acquainted with those in most 
common use. 

Plan—The children have already been led to see that heavy and light are 
relative terms—the thing which, when compared with one object, is called light, 
being said to be heavy when compared with another. Hence arises the necessity 
for an unchanging standard of weight, with which the weights of substances may 
be determined. (Exercises with scales and weights may be used at this step with 
much advantage. It is better to begin at first with the larger weights, as, the 
pound, half pound, and quarter pound, these being most readily distinguished.) 

In developing this idea, the same plan may be pursued as in illustrating the 
necessity of standard measures of size. The children should also here be taught the 
use of scales and weights, and the necessity of standard weights, in the same 
manner as the measures of size are learned. They should be much practiced 
in judging of the weight of miscellaneous objects, always testing the correctness 
of their judgment by varying the objects before the class. As a last exercise, the 
children may learn the table of avoirdupois weight. In all the exercises on weight 
the pound is taken as the standard. 

In exercising the children to judge of weight, begin by passing around the 
class, weights, or objects, that weigh just a pound. Tell the children their weight 
and request them to hold them in their right hand, and think just how heavy 
they are, as they will soon have some other objects, to decide whether they are 
heavier or lighter than this weight, and how much. Next pass around half pound 
or two pound weights, requesting the children to hold them in their right hands, 
just as they did the pound weights, and think how much they weigh. When the 
weights have gone round, call for the judgments of the class, and let one of those 
who came the nearest to the correct weight, test the correctness of the guessing 
by weighing. These exercises should be frequently repeated with miscellaneous 


18 From Elementary Instruction by E. A. Sheldon. 


Appendix 169 


objects, until they can judge with tolerable accuracy of the weight of various ob- 
jects. Request them to bring in objects of a given weight, always testing, or 
rather allowing them to test, the correctness of the selection by weighing. These 
exercises never fail to interest the children and it is astonishing how accurate they 
will soon become in judging of weight, and thus will have cultivated a sense of 
great practical utility, but which is ordinarily neglected. 


The references in the bibliography related to object teaching are 
interpretations of what has already been described and reproduced 
from original sources. To refer to them directly would be useless 
repetition. It is quite obvious that there was little difference 
between the English interpretation of Pestalozzianism and the 
American interpretation of the object teaching of the English 
Home and Colonial Schools. Only one difference seems to have 
developed to any considerable degree, and that was the emphasis 
placed on representation of objects, and parts of objects, by means 
of drawings. This supplementary idea has been called objective 
teaching to distinguish it more sharply from the object teaching 
which formed a larger proportion of the system as it was practiced 
in Oswego. 


APPENDIX XIV 


The following is a letter written in 1863 to Dr. Sheldon by Miss 
Jones who had returned to England after her work in Oswego. 
The letter is an attempt to answer the criticisms made by Dr. H. 
B. Wilbur before the New York Teachers’ Association held 
in 1862. 


PESTALOZZIANISM AND THE HOME AND COLONIAL 


The first part of Dr. Wilbur’s Article on the development of the Human Facul- 

ties published in the New York Teacher, for October 1862, is instructive and - 
interesting. The latter part of it, which attacks Pestalozzianism and the system 
of the Home and Colonial Schools, seems a collection of entangled mis-state- 
ments. On this account (and also, because the writer is, at times, inconsistent 
with himself) it does not appear possible to answer his objections seriatim. I 
shall try (and even this is not easily done) to classify the charges contained in 
the Article. 
I. 1. It isan axiom with Pestalozzian Trs. (teachers) that the idea should first be 
given and then the term or word expressing it. Surely Dr. Wilbur confounds 
this giving of the term, with the giving of the anglicized Latin term, or with the 
giving of the Etymology of the Term. 

What terms shall be given and whether or not, their derivations, are matters 
of detail. Practically, the Etymology of words (which) would be given in Schools 
for the Upper Classes, where the pupils learn Latin and Greek—would not be 
given in Schools for the laboring classes, except possibly, to some advanced class, 
knowing something of English History, in connection with the formation of the 
English Language. 

In England, certain Educators, who are none the less Pestalozzian Educators, 
have contended that only Terms of Saxon origin, should be used in teaching young 
children, and in former years, the Trs. (teachers) of the Home and Colonial made 
it a rule, never to use a Term of Latin origin, if they could obtain a Saxon Equiva- 
lent. Latterly, however, they have been convinced that to teach the child, once 
for all, the Term he will need in after life, saved time and trouble. 

If however any teacher in his or her own School likes to use ‘sticky’ for 
“adhesive” or even “‘burnable’”’ for “inflammable” he or she is quite at liberty 
to do so. 

This point is not so important in Home and Colonial eyes as in Dr. Wilbur’s. 

2. Dr. Wilbur identifies the Phonic System with the Lessons published in the 
Reading Boards of the Christian Knowledge Society. This Society, of which 
I would speak with the respect its aim and efforts deserve, seeing the great 
advantages of the Phonic System, and being aware that this system was never- 
theless little known beyond the boundaries of the Home and Colonial Schools, 
made an effort to popularize it by publishing a cheap course of Lessons in Sheets. 
It would have been easy for the authorities of the Home and Colonial to have 
rejected this Course as faulty, instead of recommending it as useful. The Teachers 


Appendix I7I 


of their own Model Schools were not dependent on it. These, being not only good 
teachers, but good scholars, could readily draw on their own knowledge of English 
for the subject Matter of their Lessons. But the Students or Teachers in Training 
were supposed to require more help, especially on Opening Schools and on their 
account the Boards have been adopted, not as Examples but as aids, and mainly 
for their small cost. 

It were needful to become acquainted with the Authorities of the Home and 
Colonial to understand how entirely they take for their Motto the Text,—“ He that 
is not against us, is for us;’’ how willing they are to extend the hand of fellow- 
ship to other Societies working toward the same end, how gladly they not the 
extension of their principles under any name, and how readily they welcome even 
a partial working out of their plans. 

Deeply as I reverence this spirit, it is nevertheless my personal opinion that 

a Society such as that of the Home and Colonial ought to publish its own Element- 
ary Reading Lessons. It has not, however, left itself without a witness—see the 
Article on Reading in the Manual of Elementary Instruction by Miss Mayo— 
see also the Course on Reading contained in the American Manual published by 
Scribner and Co. From these instances it seems manifest that Dr. Wilbur con- 
founds plans and principles. 
II. 1. Dr. Wilbur assumes that we teach science i. e. the theory of science to 
infants. He says, “It has frequently occurred that when the cultivation of the 
powers of observation has been made a leading end in early education the exercises 
to that end have run directly into scientific instruction.’’ This mistake has with- 
out doubt been made by untrained and un-Pestalozzian teachers. But Dr. Wilbur 
quotes from a paper prepared by the writer, and read before the Educational 
Convention at Oswego in 1861. The paragraph he extracts is as follows—‘‘ We 
ascend from Form to Geometry, from Place to Geography, from Weight to Mech- 
anics, from Size to proportion in Drawing and Architectural Designs, from Num- 
ber to Arithmetic and Algebra, from Color to Chromotography, from Plants to 
Botany, from Animals to Zoology, from Human Body to Physiology, from Ac- 
tions to Arts and Manufactures, from Language to Grammar.” 

Unquestionably we do so ascend, but it is during a complete educational course. 
It is a strange mistake to suppose that the least experienced Pestalozzian Teacher 
could intend this ascent to be made within the narrow bounds of the Primary 
School or with young children. Furthermore, Dr. Wilbur says ina note “‘A class 
of bright children from nine to ten years of age were introduced in an exercise 
in the harmony of colors. In answers to questions propounded by the Examining 
Committee it appeared that the pupils had been so confused by the attempt to 
learn the scientific law underlying the harmony of colors that they had absolutely 
lost the true idea that by harmony of colors was meant such an arrangement of 
colors as is most pleasant to the eye.’’ Perhaps I speak too strongly in saying 
that I consider this to be the only fair accusation contained in Dr. Wilbur’s article. 
I may hold that he puts it too strongly as concerns want of clearness on the part 
of the children, but that they did well was their praise (and that of Miss Helen 
Davies). The lesson was above them. The Teachers of Oswego who saw readily 
that lessons on Form in the lower Schools would naturally lead to Geometry 
in the Upper Schools—and that lessons on Language would lead to lessons in 
Grammar, etc., were ignorant as to the Treatment of advanced lessors in Color. 


172 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Some advanced Instruction in Color was given, at their request. The lesson 
on Harmony of Colors having excited a good deal of interest got put down on the 
Programme of Lessons, to be given before the Convention. I did not insert it. 
I ought to have protested against its insertion. That it was not an example but 
an anomaly the other lessons distinctly show. See the Reports of the Proceedings 
before the Convention. 

In the little book entitled “Color Considered,” I have distinctly stated that 
at an early stage, ‘children are lead to note, that certain colors look well with 
other colors, as facts and not with respect to rules.” 

2. As (I suppose) another instance of giving science to Infants, Dr. Wilbur 
represents a Teacher as saying to her class, in giving a lesson on Mustard— 
‘Children this is Pungency.’’ No Pestalozzian Teacher would do this. No teacher 
in training could make such a statement without incurring severe criticism. 
Children who have discovered that Mustard bites or stings, would be told, that 
on this account it is said to be pungent. I submit that there is a difference between 
the use of a concrete and of an abstract term. Everyone who watches the process 
by which children acquire ideas will see this. 

3. Dr. Wilbur assumes that we do not cultivate the emotional, but only the 
sensational nature of children. He says (and if we understand him he says truly) 
that the pleasure derived from sensation is sunk in the higher enjoyment realized 
from the superstructure of the emotions. I suppose we mean the same thing 
when we say, ‘ “The first direct lessons address the perceptive faculties of children, 
but long ere this course is completed the Teacher has begun to address the concep- 
tive faculties, while doing so, she directly calls out the social and moral feelings 
of the child.” 

On page 20 we find, ‘‘the order in which language should be taught should 
correspond precisely with the development of ideas.’’ We were underthe impress- 
ion that this had long been an axiom of our own and we recognized {t as such. 

From these instances it seems manifest that Dr. Wilbur does not always know 
what our principles and plans really are. 

III. 1. Dr. Wilbur says a system of Schools has grown up in England, known as 
the Home and Colonial Society’s System of Education, in which the natural 
observation of children is so devitalized, etc. as to draw upon itself (meaning I 
conclude, the Home and Colonial System) the scorning finger of the Satirist. 
Whatever System is condemned by the Satirist, it certainly cannot be the system 
of the Home and Colonial Society. To refute this utterly groundless state- 
ment, it is sufficient to quote the last paragraph of a pamphlet written in 1860 
by a John Stuckey Reynolds, Esq., Honorary Secretary of the Home and Colonial 
Society. This pamphlet is entitled ‘Hints on the Improvement and Extension 
of the Government Plan for Aiding the Education of the Laboring Classes.”’ 
The writer concludes thus—‘‘Our Society as is well-known, has adopted the prin- 
ciples of Pestalozzi, who taught that true education includes the cultivation of 
all the powers with which man is endowed by his Creator and not the mere in- 
culcation of knowledge, or the exercise of one of these faculties. Other Societies 
pay more attention to the communication of knowledge and consequently base 
their teaching far more upon the cultivation of memory. An inquiry as to which 
of the two systems is best adapted for educating the laboring classes of this country 


Appendix 173 


and the expression of some opinion on this point would greatly assist persons 
who are now in doubt as to the best system to be pursued.”’ 

2. Having stated that the most difficult terms are always selected to express 
the most common and familiar qualities, Dr. Wilbur endorses this statement by 
quotations from a book, entitled ‘‘Lessons on Objects,’’ written by Miss Mayo. 
This lady declines altogether to enter into any controversy with respect to her 
work, but it is a matter of fact, that the book in question was written for a School 
at Cheam under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Mayo. That in Dr. Mayo’s school 
the pupils belonged exclusively to the Upper Classes, that they received a Classi- 
cal as well as a Pestalozzian education, and passed from his school at Cheam direct- 
ly to Oxford and Cambridge, that they were of more than average ability, and 
able to receive lessons in advance of ordinary children in any rank of life, are 
matters of fact. This book contains the record of lessons given to these pupils. 
Dr. Wilbur adds ‘‘This book is used as a textbook in the Home and Colonial 
Schools.’’ The book is not and never has been used as a textbook in the Home 
and Colonial Schools. It is rarely even purchased by Home and Colonial Teachers. 
Teachers trying to consider objects with the attentive eye required for the pre- 
paration of lessons are not under the necessity of looking for a list of parts and 
qualities in a book and if they required one, ‘‘ Information on Common Objects” 
published by the Society would be opened to. - 

In Oswego where the whole subject was novel Miss Mayo’s book was more in 
request; but I always discouraged its use as a substitute for observation of the 
object itself. Nevertheless the book has done good service in showing the public 
what kind and amount of information may be given in connection with object 
lessons and how (in the higher steps) these lead to science. 

The Textbook (on the Subject) used in the Home and Colonial Institution 
is (of course) Miss Mayo’s Manual of Elementary Instruction. Any person who 
will take the trouble to look over ‘‘Lessons on Objects”’ in the lower steps of that 
work must be struck with the extreme simplicity of the Language employed. 
Practically, I always find that the vocabulary of our children is in advance of 
the language used in the early lessons of the Manual. 

From this instance it would appear that Dr. Wilbur is sometimes mistaken 
as to matters of fact. 

3. Dr. Wilbur continues ‘‘This system does not embody the views of the best 
Educators in England. Rely upon it, no system of Education can ultimate in 
any permanent good with such dogmatic principles and such questionable 
methods.”’ 

The Home and Colonial School Society carries out more fully and perfectly 
than any other the views of Pestalozzi. It has instituted a Training School for 
Education of Female Teachers on this System. The only Societies ever compared 
to it in point of importance and influence are: (1) The National Society and (2) 
The Society of the Borough Road. 

The first named of these was established in 1811, the other in 1803. The 
Home and Colonial in 1836. It is only 27 years old and yet it has been on a level 
with the others for fourteen years. The Inspector of Female Training Schools in 
England, the Rev. F. C. Cook (who is also Chaplain to the Queen) submits an 
Annual Report of the Female Training Schools under his charge to the Lords of 
the Committee of Council and, ultimately, to Parliament. This gentleman in the 


174 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Report of Training Establishments for 1854 thus speaks of the Home and Colon- 
ial—‘‘ The expense of so large a staff is of course very considerable, amounting 
this year to £1819/2/10d but the salaries are low considering the abilities and 
attainments of the teachers. The managers have shown a wise liberality in this 
first essential of good instruction and we are convinced that the result upon the 
development of the students’ minds, and especially upon their professional train- 
ing is most important. The written examinations, although indicating a satis- 


factory amount of attainment in a large proportion of the candidates for certi- - 


ficates, scarcely do justice to their qualifications which consist rather in habits 
of thought and judgment than in actual acquirements. The names of many of the 
teachers have been mentioned in former reports, especially those of Mr. Dunning, 
Mr. Reiner, Mr. Coghlan, and Miss Jones; in fact all the lectures which we heard 
this year appeared to us remarkable for good arrangement, copious knowledge, 
and happy illustration.’’ In the Report for the year 1860 Mr. Cook says ‘‘Cer- 
tainly no expense has been spared by the managers to supply everything that can 
be required for the thorough training of the students.’”’ ‘The results as I have 
frequently had occasion to state have been entirely satisfactory. The students 
not only pass the annual examination with a success that bear witness to the 
ability and zeal of their teachers but receive a complete and peculiarly efficient 
course of instruction in the principles and practical details of school keeping. 
There is a combination of advantages which do not often meet in the same insti- 
tution. A remarkably clear perception of the fundamental principles upon which 
the educational system ts based with a singular elasticity and readiness of adaptation 
to varying circumstances. The esprit de corps is very strongly felt by students and 
teachers but there is no hesitation in recognizing the value and importance of 
the improvement daily brought to light by the experience of teachers in other 
institutions. System without pedantry, earnestness without bigotry are the 
great objects aimed at and in a great measure attained.”’ 

Of the Schools of the Institution we find a Report of the year 1856, “No 
Instituion has so large a number of children of all ages, so great a variety of well 
organized and efficient schools in which the students may observe educational 
processes and put the lessons they receive into practice; while in none are the 
principles of education more carefully studied and combined more skillfully with 
practical exemplifications.’’ Again more particularly in the Report for the year 
1857, ‘‘Infant Schools—Miss Henderson—An excellent school fully retaining its 
high character asa Model School under the present mistress who was educated and 
trained in this Institution. Mixed School—Miss B. Jones—For Girls and Infants. 
This is called the Model Mixed School. It is admirably conducted, the children 
are full of life and intelligence, and well advanced in all subjects. The recitation 
of good poetry and of considerable portions of Holy Scripture, has been highly 
beneficial both in this and the other schools of the Institution. Juvenile School 
—Mr. Coghlan. Boys and Girls—This is an excellent school, the instruction is 
remarkably complete, and the children are thoroughly instructed in a variety of 
practical subjects of great importance to persons in their station of life. Their 
faculties are systematically developed, and due pains taken to inculcate high and 
sound principles of action.” 

I have confined myself to the consideration of what I hold to be grave in- 
accuracies of statement on the part of Dr. Wilbur. On mere differences of opinion 


eg I 


A ppendix 175 


and judgment I have not touched unless incidentally. I will now with the utmost 
brevity touch on a few such points. Dr. Wilbur says, ‘‘A common error that many 
advocates of what is called the object system fall into, is the idea that observa- 
tions have a peculiar practical value over the corresponding means used in other 
educational systems.’’ We do not know what “the corresponding means used 
in other educational systems”’ are: we cannot see that there is any thing which 
corresponds to, nor any substitute for the formation of a ‘“‘habit of accurate ob- 
servation in childhood.”’ In our eyes the peculiar practical value of the object 
lesson consists not in the knowledge it gives, but in the mental cultivation it 
involves. 

Dr. Wilbur says truly, that the use of words above the current language of the 
circle in which they move, cannot long be kept up or remembered by the children. 
In the abstract this is undeniable; as applied to condemn the cultivation of 
language in Pestalozzian schools, it has no force. 

The son or daughter of the humblest parent who moves in the school circle 
for five hours a day during five or six years becomes familiar with the current 
language of the school and keeps it up, always. Dr. Wilbur maintains that a 
child first receives general and then particular ideas. Illustratively he says, 
“The infant goes to one caretaker as well as another. He has but the idea that 
his wants are ministered to by one of human form and dress. In time he distin- 
guishes the particular nurse from the other members of the family by difference 
in tone, manner, and dress, and cries for her alone, etc.’’ We hold that Dr. Wilbur 
mistakes the absence of ideas on a subject for the possession of a general idea. 

I have read Dr. Wilbur’s article with attention, surprise, and regret. The 
regret, however, is a very evanescent feeling. Nothing will do Pestalozzianism 
more good than a few sharp attacks. If it be strong in the truth, it is strong enough 
to fight its way, as almost all good things have to do. The fact of opposition is 
not surprising, but how any person of intelligence, education, and high character 
could venture to condemn a System, and an Institution, of which he manifestly 
knows so little, is a-mystery to me! 


MARGARET E. M. JONEs, 
May Ist, 1863. 


APPENDIX XV 


The following is a letter written in 1863 to Dr. Sheldon by Miss 
Elizabeth Mayo of the Home and Colonial Training Institution 
in London and contains comments upon the address given by Dr. 
H. B. Wilbur before the New York State Teachers’ Association 


Meeting held:in 1862. 

Oakhill, Hempstead 
Dec. 18 (1863), London 
Dear Sir: 

I am sorry that circumstances have prevented my sending an immediate 
answer to your letter, in fact it requires more thought and consideration to write 
on the points you bring before my notice than I am now able to give with satis- 
faction to myself. You will not be surprised at this when I tell you that I am 
fast approaching seventy years of age, that I have been an amateur laborer in 
the cause of Education forty years, and that I have very delicate health. I 
will however send you a few observations on the points about which you desire 
to have my opinion and will preface them by the remark that I think the writer 
in the New York Teacher often confuses practice with principles. Now I am 
most fully convinced in my own mind that the general principles of the Pestaloz- 
zian system are truly philosophical and founded on the basis of human nature, 
though I have not always approved of the plans that have sprung from them. I 
will now refer to the paragraphs to which you draw my attention, page 15. We 
do not consider that the ‘individual observations’’ become mental steps and 
mental acquirements. They are mental steps not from the acquisition of knowledge 
but from power developed. What we have mainly in view is the calling out and 
strengthening the child’s mental faculties, the creating and appetite for knowledge, 
the formation of correct habits, and not the storing of the mind with knowledge. 
This is a later step in education and is the consequence of the first. 

P. 17. It is quite contrary to our system that scientific instruction should 
be given at an early age. We altogether disclaim this, our theory in this, “to 
proceed from the known to the unknown,” that instruction should be graduated 
and progressive. We endeavour therefore that the child shall acquire clear and 
distinct ideas of Form by the exercise of his senses and we believe that should his 
education be carried on to a later period in the higher branches he will thus more 
easily and clearly grasp the abstractions of pure geometry. Should he stop short 
of this, still the cultivation of his senses in this direction will prove of good value 
in the business of life. The same observation holds good with respect to our plans 
of teaching Number—we commence with palpable demonstration and so enable 
the pupils to work with understanding and precision in mental calculation. Sym- 
bols are not taught till the ideas they represent are apprehended, the same in Lan- 
guage—the ideas precede the words given, their relation to each other and the 
office they perform in the interest of lessons, but the classifications, definitions, 
and terms of grammar are deferred to a more advanced period. The same system is 
pursued in all the subjects taught. Our desire is to take nature as our guide and 
to educate the different faculties in the order in which they are unfolded, en- 
deavouring to keep them well balanced in harmonious operation. Pestalozzi’s 
great idea was to educate the man and thus in answer to your queries I have 


A ppendix ) 177 


spoken only of the intellectual powers. We educate according to his fitting ex- 
pression, the head, the hand, and the heart. That we never err in carrying out 
our views far be it from me to assert. With respect to the observation at page 18, 
I think I have forestalled them and as regards Reading, we consider it as the 
chef d’oeuvre of our schools. Our children read with such intelligence and cor- 
rectness, but our manner of teaching it harmonizes with their system. The teacher 
analyzes and presents the causal element, first to the pupil, and then helps him 
to build up his knowledge. First he learns to distinguish the letters by their form, 
next he learns their power and sound in continuation, and lastly their names. 
It would require many pages to describe more fully our process but I may say 
it is successful. 

P, 20. It is true that our ‘first object is to lead a child to observe with 
accuracy,’’ but surely a succeeding step should be to give him the most appropriate 
words that he may make use of what he gains and in this process the habit of 
forming definite ideas will be strengthened and the memory also exercised. In 
page 21 the writer speaks of “a Mr. Mayo” meaning I conclude the Rev. Dr. Mayo 
who spent three years with Pestalozzi and afterwards introduced the system 
in his schools chiefly formed of the sons of our aristocracy. His success was proved 
by the overflowing numbers and the high positions his pupils took in our innova- 
tion and in after life. Mr. Reynolds, the originator of the Home and Colonial 
Training Schools—and I have had the pleasure of working with him ever since its 
foundation. My brother viewed it with great interest but was soon called from 
his labours to enjoy the rest that remaineth for the people of God. 

With respect to my ‘‘Lessons on Objects”’ it would have been more correct 
to have stated the ages of the children from six to ten but the final edition was 
much less comprehensive and the statement of the ages has been completely 
left as first given. These lessons were prepared for my brother’s school. His 
pupils were very intelligent and before they left the course of instruction from 
objects they had commenced the study of Latin and Greek so that to them the 
derivations were not out of place. It isnot the textbook of the Home and Colonial 
Infant Schools though many of the teachers like to possess it. The Lessons on 
Objects prepared for the latter schools were much simplified and terms not so 
familiar were avoided. I have constantly warned our students against the un- 
scrupulous use of hard words but it is very difficult often to find a common word 
in our language to express quite simple qualities—for example, what could be 
correctly substituted for opaque, transparent, inflammable, soluble, etc.? and 
I must add my experience that when the idea is clearly defined in a child’s mind 
the name is easily learned and after a little recitation and application becomes 
available for use. 

I cannot enter into all the details of the pamphlet you sent. I write simply 
because I feel an interest in your institution and wish it success. Be assured if 
we lay firm hold of Pestalozzian Principles though we may make a few mistakes 
in their application we shall accomplish a great good. Such has been unquestion- 
ably the case in England and I hope it may be so in America. I believe Mr. 
Kriisi is now with you. Pray remember me to him. Believe me, dear Sir, 


Yours truly, ELIZABETH MAyo 


P. S. I conclude you have my brother’s five prefaces. I think they are the 
best exponents of the system. 


APPENDIX XVI 


CITIES AND STATES IN WHICH OSWEGO GRADUATES 
TAUGHT FROM 1862-1886 


Pua Dame Saved setae Bane 7 Hartford. 2... ee 2 
IVLEDIOR S ufear a cals os 3 New. Britains... ae 2 
Montgomery..... I New Haven...) s/n 
Talladega. . 2 North Granby: >. 7, as ee 
Uniontown. . I Norwalk... : 5 

ATIZGNES Le au khee ae I Rockville. ..\.2..;. 3) =e 
PPECSCOL Boa yh tisha to oe ar ne Delaware.. ra ek ee 

ATEGOSa6 ie fol nt hea oath 4 Wailer one BIER A Ee 
PCHALOU tA Sant nae eth mol Oe District of Calnenpice 
BOORSDOFON wig \ ad ntsuok Manan Wabhinetons toe 5 
Bored (9) hele Aten ee ee Re MOR 5 Florida.... Jk | WO 
PADUA hikes ty us. Wei oue I Gainesville... . .25.ch ee 

MECTENTE 9 TE OTe ee ee kg 21 San Mateo... I 
Benecia. .. I Georgia... 

Descanso... I Atlanta. . 3 
PIOWNEY 5, 5 -Stniev ation Simmons ie Augusta. JV: I 
POLIS SIO VIR, 82s lh cee aa Macon.. 2 
Grass Valley.. I *Manhattan. .. I 
LAVEPMOre ie ae crs Lae eee a Savannah ».4)6°0¢.4 eee I 
BIN OFGBOSE £3 ooh ae eal Tlinoisiri nse Fw etic eee 

BEES ERT Ys a NG, 3 Aurora. 2:) i. i ee ee ee 2 
BlaCer Wille: kiwis eatin ee aT Austin, J: 5. ee I 
Da SATE CTS Ce Raat mai ay Renna SBN SBF Belvidere... ):.:.4. 408s 
OCCA TIGNUG, .\0 kcules ats Ca ee Bement, 3.2. 22 ee I 
aL BST oa oar Peaminn @ Wann s 5 I Bloomington I 
San Francisco. . 2 Cait ).csca 08g ee I 
San Jose. . I Champaign. ..;..... <9 a eee 
Santa Paula. . 2 Chicago...-.\s'.'.4.49a ae 16 
Ventura... sa Se iTunes Bae aT "Del Nortes ..:4)070. ee I 

OlOtR dG oso tia Boyt de ake oe 9 DIXON hie <3 es» a I 
‘Alamosa. . did Eh a talaes Cite Blgin se ha sieee 2 
Colorado Sebo shold raedas it ne I Englewood ts << «0s 0s ae 
Denver. 2 Equality: ’:5 20 \lce alee I 
Crarveten I Evanston, 3... «+.» si. Ee 
Leadville. . I Freedom)... : ss atv pe I 
Longmont. . I Gary.. 5 dss yale 
Pueblo. .... ¥ I Hickland park! “> aoe ae 2 
Williamsburg. . . I Hyde, Park... /p0 a2 I 

COOUSCHPN Es aii One ees 22 Jacksonville. ....... »..7. eee 
Briugencrt ait 2 ots au aia Kenwood. ou)... 200 eee *: 
Farmitgtona, atti sa stig Lane La Grange... ....4. 2s eee 
Csreeiiwictir ie aoee.- cee) Sa I Lake Forest... 


*Not located in the Rand and McNally International Atlas. 


87 


POG oy « 
tanto. 2... 


i) ee aN ae ee a eR Oe Ma 


eT ae a ee ey ae a 


TMM. ig Boe 


Lempard. :... 


(1 ES Oe Ca ee ae 
BHOUNG ks va 


Mount Carmel 


MGMTIEO ATTOUL: 5.6. ales scdib 
WEGUNEeE UBS. mS ss ek 


og LESS rr 
Wakignd::....... 

Oak Parigsv i: . 

gy vices 1), i a 
Ravenswood.......... 


T(E ee 


Rock Run.... 
ROSCCC. 8... » 


ae ee, ee eK See bl th a oe 


Springfield..... mn 
MCRMOLCL. >, ... «> 


Winnetka... . 


Peon ys. fo... 


Bloomingdale. 
Ribera ee ses: 
Eugene...... 


ye te Ss Se le oe ee 


re G6 Owe Ligeti 


[oR sy | rr rr 
MmipOVOuritL fi... ss x.<los 


Fort Wayne. . 


Cg OE Ee 
Msreencastie, -).. sas ss’ 


Indianapolis. . 


Jonesboro..... 
Lafayette..... 


ete we 8) ee et eS 


Mitehell...... . 


Morristown... 


Pel ie ay ore Fe oi Ke Aa, Ge 


Munces....... 


DIO WIADY oc yi a ee ne 


eg Sn 


Priticeton........ 


Richmond.... 
Rockville... .. 


Maw a ote 6. oS map Sal's is 


wie 8 P.O 0: Vee” wale Bans 


wee OT fel tow ia «wi (eee te fa le 


*Waterman..... 
Wastville........ 


A ppendix 


oOo = = 


= = Gm 


70 


TOW eee en 
PU NOLO In oes ee eae 
Cotta ron alle Yat: ah) eect e 


Cherokee... 
Relmtotionsc.. ic, 


COUNGIMERIING ot ess 4 acne 
Wavenpore Js 97 tio oie < ae 


Des Moines... . 


PRO DIMG reise ok ed ss 
BOVeT EOC SOE. ota 5) ail kate 
USP OER EI Bed oe og kid Soeety 


Independence.......... 
POW AO IU VAR Sale ss cabs 


Iowa Falls.... 


Genk wan 2 a fee ha te oat 
Marshalltown? .).«...... 


*Northfreldio 2 sya 0.) 
Qetalonga cn / kt yes 
TALI inc cue eae 
FCT Cla eo: a teh eh eee EAU ay 
ra DULL ESE Rees Lc a oe es 
OTOMIEY: © aio: anes ne eeaees 
POR eee oh Ree Ce Lh ee 
EERIE tk is owe yashndics 
WV ASIEN CON fora) oon cuba ane 
Wa RELIOG entities dole i lj ienPe ee 
Kansas 
Burlingame: i. vee 3 
Council Grove....... 


Emporia 74: 
Lawrence...... 


Leavenworth........ 
Fort Leavenworth. . 


Newton...... 
Pabiesee 3b. 


Pleasant Ridge..... aoe 


Topeka ga. cas, 


AY SEC Vd SRO Rae 

We niseletuay Mera, alas, end 
Kentucky 
LINEV act hy ae te Se gee 


Lexington...... 
Louisville...... 
Pariucal oie 


Parumoolieu ee es 
LOUISIATION nwt kes 
New Orleans... 3.0 6.0. 


GP eye, ei) v0, 6, Bile, Wwe e815 570 


179 


— 


44 


20 


180 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Maing es stay Ah eee ee 10 Phoenix 3; 0.4) Saeeeeee 
WAU Ista Sorted Seek a) cee ae ee Saginaw) 4 sie 
MarmingeGn gene sie ee I South Haven). )\-4 see 
APOr HAM? din sou ne Ree eee St. Charles. 7) i.e 
Lewiston? 23) Matec eee 3 St. Joseph:!.: :i0. say eeeeeee 
POCtlAM siti otene sag eeer ce mnene ud Vassar (2)... 

Maryland cninin nen Mere tes 5 Vulcan: 05.50. 2 ee 
ATnapols iia ic cate ey West Bay City........% 
Baltimore Mico wea ho nes 3 Whitehall 
Federalapury ose eee Minnesota: >. 32.2) a eee 

Massachipettat 244). ce here ce a2 Albert: leat? nae 
Blandonieny culercs se rece I Anoka’ 5. 70. eee 
OStON eur) cee a at eae 9 *Brookings. ... 


Brook uners cs hi Gui, see eee 
Wottage Harm: so edaue cee 
Ct risVille@crons he) 4 a) ee I 
FUOCENCE.. 4 vot ene eee ee 
islouicestery ois eke ee 
Nyse Bride S00 Vo 2 ne ee 
Northamptonscs; sce eee 
CJOITEY SEs ee Stee ean eee at 
SOUTH BOAO Larus ene eee 
Springiietd pace eee nee Mee 
Wellesley o.oo eae eee 
Wiestbora.) 2 ica weeny 
West ‘Newton, 3 200 2, 
Viel uF a BRR Oe 6 
Worcesters. vue) hanes 
Ohichigaty «1 citer se we eee 
Pattie (resin | ee Cores 
Bay Cty cc ioaie a) eee 
CUING A oy toa een on eee ee 


Ww 


QO = = = NO =» me om 


Bronson's Prairie; 2722007 4 
OE Ecc aN Dem UP Dal Spel 
Charlotte.’ 2/23) ae 9 
Loeirow fond Pee 
Rastioag ina Wis orsceiee e 
PE oe areas, cies Ey 
torand! Rapida): 0) ene Te 
Harbor Springs..... I 
ASTI AG ater ites Caren ae ae I 
NACKINAC TE. aint ent SU at 
Wististeel ah aurea? pcos Crores 


84 


Duleth eae ora 


Fergus Falis.: 5), 3o aoe 
Mankato; 3732 eee 


Minneapolis... .. 
Northfield. .. 


Red Wing. <) }2auaeee 


Rochester... 27 2. 


St: Ciotith. = 7 ee 


Stillwater). 22 


St: Peter i 


Winona... i... 2s 
Mississippi 
Clarksdale::. |. Soe 
*Tougaloo. |. o>). 25 Ree 
Missourt 5.20 US See 


Bolivat. ee 


Ferguson... ./) see 
Holden. 2.) 2.0 
Jeiferson City. 7. ee 


Kansas City cies 


"Kiddvilles 2 6 yonueee 


Kirksville... .. 


Léxington’.4;; 034.800 eee 


Nitariti see poe 


Osceola... 22 5..2.7 ee 
Pacific? 2.5205. 2 


Warrensburg... . 2). eee 
Montana 


Bozeman.."’.'. }.e 


Butté City. <. (2a). 0 eee 
ot. Joseph... ee 
Nebraska... o) see 


Fairbury. ise eee 


@ 0 4) S)\0 Bee Bae Fm ees 


23 


35 


A ppendix 


JOS GLEN IRS ea a rare eS | Cleveland gyn vi ium ee 

EE Lee a a ars I ColdmpUss avs a. Wee) Are 

MRR SY sieicn cys ct vvin iter 26 Derytoniieis.s ww laiceisinn 

EUAN 5! iy o's skates 3 Dayton Falls... . 

Satton cs. I VOStOrie cir s & Maat ual nasianeaen 

OT a ay ae ain Ca ae I Gallipolis. (206 o.'54 

STONY oes Sa are eee aes See I CON EVA ii oa) ada aes 
PEMMCATONTA cd as See ekeis 8 Greene yg ial} ae alc cohen 

MEIER Gd co oes ois bs ei 2 - 6 Hillsboro,’ .2 

BR ET ee sclies 5 36k SAY be traeye we 2 ebanonas 13 is Ve beeaios 
PROT aOR. 5c. ee Sed dale - I Mansfield....... 

MEER i io: 31.) 3 ging SS I Marveville cd vgcuee eae 
New Hampshire... ........4.: 5 Mount Auburn. ttn yin sz 

eR yao va cale marae I Mount Union... 

BEEMEDOMOT Sh ic4 Ro su dewsdeds 2 NapOleOn a4) eae an eee eee 

ER TESEEV Sie one on dad oi: otacopi eit 2 NEATONG che ee a ic ne 
OMB OTBOU ace i055 lu pe Mle 79 SOTA Sith eu co ook beeen 

amen ta) 2 + Cc eee Od eoledOs catias, 

SME Tek gre So da SEN I ELOY ois iNet ah aed ae eel as 

MME Pi ec Soak Oeics Sane 2 Wadsworth... 54 iaiyeies et: 

BREE Mecesdli inghnasiee Wat Warren). \8i2.a 4h 

Ue 215) a 2 Wellington... 

REE OP. 5st a as I ENMESD LS oh. tg a tase 

PagGOTANgG . os Psi oe Oy ts 4 Yellow Springs.. 

Elizabeth...... PABOSUIUNG TT si5 ash aaiarnsieenne 

eC ATIGEO NC Fo. 5 cM ithiien oe CURA THONG ricci 20) «Sign ON 

TA MERECLELO WN . oi. «212. ses ahlequah ia acuci.) cn teens 

Pracconhelds. 2h. oneal I ETUDES soho We OM IEAB WR, Peon a0 

SOUEAtOWN 3.3 OLE Aaa PI RIGEQOIN. wh dy ach tictie a 

RERMCETE CL eso ves 6 Jacksonville yo rie ane’ 

Perse CIty so. oe et 9 Renney lyaniaa. acs bas 

Matawan..... I Allegheny City... .. 

Montclair..... 5 ATONE ess sos 

LUTE 2 rs ee EE | Bloomsburg........ 

GS 2 Brandt ts Sass ances 

i I i Meat Ot bh 460 un. 59, 

Orange....... 2 ROUT ds eeisaae at blot haa 

Passaic: .... I PAVING mises creas eee: 

yo 8 Germantown.... 

Pine. see ‘3 PABTTISIMIES A chale, aes war ate tae a 

Co A Oe ae ann | BSUS ED or fo rey Shed 

Rutherford. ... I TIOCRrIAVElbo sh a/c) 

“phar. a ; Marshalltdninn 92 telousenng 60 

(Cle te z WET ORC ree es itis tela pathteaany 
clth Ts i a ee a a 58 Mount Pleasant. . 

Akron ond 2 Myerstown..... 

Chillicothe..... I Norristowi id, oc.0. on + 


Cincinnati..... 


CO Cy ans ey is 4 


Ne NO BW NS DN S&S & 


= = S| = 


69 


182 


Philadel phias. bas cases 
PIvte Ure. avin ho atcea eee 
Port. alleghany\). 2. oe ue nae 
Renova sos) aie san ec cae tee 


Scrantotias. ocr 
SelinggrOVEdciee nes cee 
Shippensbtire) ia) ns cok ae 
San ville tea: 
Swarthmore wea a ee 
Ditusville, <> tien chs te es 


West Philadelphia. ......... 
Wiest towed eo te ae 
Wilkkesbarre@d oid) the (sche 
ROG elite hoes ee cna 
Prov errs cat waceuen 
WVESEETIVS Moae ces. stnian a aa 
South Carolina... :.:. 
(harlestonc. eee 2 
POUL paota. iy ies bm 
PY SATO Va Ok alta Stes ae ae 
AR chi fet cs ae Rem ae rie ey 


Kellyville. ....... 
MORTON Eig c go). aie td celal es ra 


Brandon is. s dou cas es 
Beistols co) }c8 4 ee cicabehr eae’ 
Burlington, io.) ok ee 
AZastlebon chy cvk elo ue ee 
NOMnsOnA hae Gal a to ae 
Bartland iow seb h oar eae 
Shelbirmeey Bot eve. 
tA bane wet) is 
VOEEpennies 0) oc 2) eave kere 
Virginia aoa on Un pe false en 
atistie Me Dury pte 4. hee 


34 


The Oswego Movement in American Education 


Culpepper... .. ) cane 
Hampton. /s.. 2. 


Washington.» «4. ¢8 ae 
Olympia... i). 6 ee 
West Virginia...:... ..5e. ee 
Wheeling... . .1.)..8 Jee 
Wisconsiti gi ee 
Appleton ose ste 
Beloit.) 50).66.as Sa 
Fond duiLacs ae eee 

eal trot coheed 
Madison..... 
Milwaukee... . cc. s/c sna 
Phillipe ae ea 
Ripon ter ea oes 


River. Falls... , 23 
Stockbridge: .... oi... 41.0 ee 
Whitewater. .3...... so5 ee 


Wyoming. 4 ued 
Cheyenne........ 
Laramie... wes \s i. 4.< alg ee 


Oshawa, Ontario..... 
Peterboro, Ontario.... 


MexICO 6 se. ace a 
Sandwich Islands: :. 2.2.3). 
South America: i. (¢.c.0 ee 


Parana cueee 
Rosariovecs a 


no = =~ = mM 


18 


13 


City or Town 
Accord 
Adams 
Adams Center 
Addison 
Addison Hill 
Albany 
Alexandria Bay 
Alfred Station 
Ames 
Amsterdam 
Antwerp 
Attica 
Auburn 
Aurelius 
Aurora 
Ausable 

Avon 


Babylon 
Bainbridge 
*Baiting Hollows 
Baldwinsville 
Barne’s Corners 
Batavia 
Batchellerville 
Bay Shore 
Belfast 
Bellport 
Bergen 
Binghamton 
Black Brook 
Bloomville 
Bolivar 
*Bolney 
Boonville 
Brewerton 
Brockport 
Brooklyn 
Buffalo 

Burke 


- Montgomery 


APPENDIX XVII 


NEW YORK CITIES IN WHICH OSWEGO GRADUATES 
TAUGHT FROM 1862-1886 


County Number 
Ulster 

Jefferson 
Jefferson 
Steuben 
Steuben 

Albany I 
Jefferson 
Allegany 
Montgomery 


Jefferson 
Wyoming 
Cayuga 
Cayuga 
Cayuga 
Clinton 
Livingston 


Sse Pe WB BR Se SH BD OS & & HD 


Suffolk 
Chenango 


Onondaga 
Lewis 
Genesee 
Saratoga 
Suffolk 
Allegany 
Suffolk 
Genesee 
Broome 
Clinton 
Delaware 
Allegany 


al 
Oo = = & & NH S = HR = CO 


w 
° 


Oneida 
Onondaga 
Monroe 
Kings 
Erie 
Franklin 


tN 
Hen iu W DN & & & & 


City or Town 
Caledonia 
Cambridge 
Canajoharie 
Canandaigua 
Canastota 
Candor 
Carthage 
Catchuque 
*Catlin 

Cato 
Cazenovia 
Center Moriches 
Centralia 
Central Islip 
Charlton 
Chappaqua 
Chateaugay 
Chaumont 
Chester Hill 
Chili 
Chittenango 
Cicero 
Clarence 
Clayton 
Cleveland 
Clinton 
Clintonville 
Clyde 
Cohoes 
Collins Center 
Cooperstown 
Corinth 
Corning 
Cortland 


*Dakota 
Deposit 

De Ruyter 
Dobb’s Ferry 
Dryden 


* Not located in the Rand and McNally International Atlas. 


County Number 
Livingston 
Washington 
Montgomery 
Ontario 

Madison 

Tioga 

Jefferson 

Suffolk 


I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

2 

7 

3 

I 
Cayuga I 
Madison 2 
Suffolk I 
Chautauqua I! 
Suffolk I 
Saratoga I 
Chautauqua I 
Franklin 6 
Jefferson 3 
Westchester I 
Monroe I 
Madison I 
Onondaga 2 
Erie I 
Jefferson 2 
Oswego 2 
Oneida I 
Clinton I 
Wayne I 
Albany 2 
Erie I 
Otsego I 
Saratoga I 
I 

6 


‘Steuben 


Cortland 


I 
Broome 5 
Madison 2 
Westchester 7 
Tompkins 2 


184 The Oswego Movement in American Education 


City or Town 
Dunkirk 
Durhamville 


East Bloomfield 
Eddyville 

Elba 
Elizabethtown 
Ellenville 
Ellisburg 
Elmira 


Fair Haven 
Fairport 
Fayette 
Felts Mills 
Fishkill 
Flatbush 
Flushing 
Forest port 
Franklinville 
Fredonia 
Fresh Pond 
Fruit Valley 
Fulton 


Garden City 
Gates 
Geneseo 
Geneva 
Gilbert Mills 
Glen Cove 
Glenham 
Glenwood 
Gloversville 
Gouveneur 
Gowanda 
Grahamsville 
Granby 
Granby Center 
Greenpoint 
Greenport 
Greenville 
Greenwich 


Hamburg 
Hamilton 


County Number 
Chautauqua I 
Oneida I 


Ontario 
Ulster 
Genesee 
Essex 
Ulster 
Jefferson 
Chemung 


= NR Oot 


b= 


Cayuga 
Monroe 
Seneca 
Jefferson 
Dutchess 
Kings 
Queens 
Chautauqua 
Cattaraugas 
Chautauqua 
Queens 
Oswego 
Oswego 


— 
Same Ne NW UMW & & OO 


lal 
Ny 


Nassau I 
Monroe I 
Livingston 4 
Ontario 2 
Oswego I 
Nassau 2 
Dutchess I 
Erie I 
Fulton 5 
St. Lawrence 2 
Cattaraugas 4 
Sullivan I 
Oswego I 
Oswego I 
Kings I 
Suffolk 26 
Greene I 
Washington 3 


Erie 4 
Madison 4 


City or Town 
Hammondsport 
Hannibal 
Harford 
Hartwick 
Hastings 
Hempstead 
Henderson 
Henrietta 
*Henryville 
Herkimer 
Hoosick Falls 
*Hornellsville 
Horseheads 
*Houndsfield 
Howell’s 
Huguenot 
Huntington 


Ilion 
Ionia 
Irvington 
Islip 
Italy 
Ithaca 


Jacksonville 
Jamaica 
Jamestown 
Jericho 
Jordan 


Kiatone 
Kingston 


Kinney Four Corners Oswego 


Lacona 
Lansingburg 
Ledyard 
Leonardsville 
Le Roy 
Lewiston 
Liberty 
Lima 
Lindley 
Lisle 

Little Falls 


County Number 
Steuben I 
Oswego II 
Cortland 
Otsego 
Oswego 
Nassau 
Jefferson 
Monroe 


— 


Merkimer 
Rensselaer 


Chemung 
Orange 


Orange 
Suffolk 


— 
Qe = = Se PY BPs he Re oe oe 


Herkimer 
Ontario 
Westchester 
Suffolk 
Yates 
Tompkins 


i) 


nae BW ww 


Tompkins 
Queens 
Chautauqua 
Nassau 
Onondaga 


= 


Chautauqua I 
Ulster 


me GH 


Oswego 
Rensselaer 
Cayuga 
Madison 
Genesee 
Niagara 
Sullivan 
Livingston 
Steuben 
Broome 
Herkimer 


= NO = = =e NH me HY & HN 


City or Town 
Livingston Manor 
Lockport 
Lycoming 


Macedon 
Madison 
Malone 
Mamaroneck 
*Manayunk 
Mannsville 
Marcellus 
Mariner’s Harbor 
Massena 
Matteawan 
McGraw 
Medina 
Meridian 
Mexico 
Middleburg 
Miller’s Place 
Millerton 
Minetto 
Mohawk 
Montezuma 
Moore’s Mills 
Moriches 
Morristown 
Morrisville 
*Mosestown 
Mount Morris 
Mount Kisco 
Mount Vernon 
Mumsville 


Narrowsburg 
Newark 

New Berlin 
Newburgh 
New Hartford 
New Haven 
New Paltz 
Newport 

New Rochelle 
Newville 
New York 
New York Mills 


Appendix 


County Number 
Sullivan I 
Niagara 3 
Oswego I 


Wayne 
Madison 
Franklin 
Westchester 


Jefferson 
Onondaga 
Richmond 
St. Lawrence 
Dutchess 
Cortland 
Oreleans 
Cayuga 
Oswego 
Schoharie 
Suffolk 
Dutchess 
Oswego 
Herkimer 
Cayuga 
Dutchess 
Suffolk 

St. Lawrence 
Albany 


Livingston 
Westchester 
Westchester 
Madison 


~OW SeNT SE NW SW SDH BS He Se OR WD WW HD KR ORM DN 


Sullivan 
Wayne 
Chenango 
Orange 
Oneida 
Oswego 
Ulster 
Herkimer 
Westchester 
Herkimer 
New York 3 
Oneida 


=O = Be HY HY SW N ND & 


City or Town 
Niagara Falls 
Nichols 
Nicholville 
Northampton 
North Brookfield 
*North Chorton 
North Granville 
North Lawrence 
*North Parma 
Northport 
North Troy 
Northville 
Norwich 
Norwood 
Nyack 


Oak Hill 
Oakland 
Ogdensburg 
Old Westbury 
Olean 

Oneida 
Oneida Castle 
Onondaga 
Oregon 
Orient 
Osceola 
Oswego 
Oswego Center 
Oswego Falls 
Otto 

Ovid 

Owen’s Mills 


Painted Post 
Parish 
Patchogue 
*Paxton 
Pearsalls 
Penfield 
Peru 
Philadelphia 
Piercefield 
Pierrepont Manor 
Pittsford 
Plattsburg 
Port Byron 


*Not located in the Rand and McNally International Atlas. 


185 


County Number 
Niagara 
Steuben 

St. Lawrence 
Fulton 
Madison 


Washington 
St. Lawrence 


Suffolk 
Rensselaer 
Fulton 
Chenango 


St. Lawrence 
Rockland 


mmm meet 


aS 
cn 


Greene 
Sullivan 

St. Lawrence 
Nassau 
Cattaraugus 
Madison 
Oneida 
Onondaga 
Putnam 
Suffolk 
Lewis 
Oswego 
Oswego 
Oswego 
Cattaraugas 
Seneca 
Chemung 


Lael 
oOo = 


yO = = = = GQ eS WN 


246 


ee ee ee | 


Steuben 
Oswego 
Suffolk I 


Nassau 
Monroe 
Clinton 
Jefferson 

St. Lawrence 
St. Lawrence 
Monroe 
Clinton 
Cayuga 


NO Oe = BFW NN + SB ODN WN 


186 


City or Town 
Port Chester 
Port Leyden 
Port Orange 
Portville 
Potsdam 
Poughkeepsie 
Prospect Heights 
Pulaski 


Queens 


Red Creek 
Redwood 
Richfield 
Ripley 
Riverhead 
Rochester 
Rocky Point 
Rondout 
Roscoe 

Rose 

Roslyn 
Rouse’s Point 


Sacket Harbor 
*Sacquoit 
Salamanca 
Sand Hill 
Sandy Creek 
Saratoga 
Saranac Lake 
Savannah 
Sayville 
Scarsdale 
Schoharie 
Scipioville 
Scriba 

Shelter Island 
Sing Sing 
Sisson Springs 
Skaneateles 
Slaterville 
Sodus Point 
Southampton 
South New Berlin 
Southold 


County Number 
Westchester 
Lewis 
Orange 
Cattaraugas 
St. Lawrence 
Dutchess 
Rensselaer 
Oswego 


— 
Ss me BP NH HS & WN 


iS) 


Queens 


Wayne 
Jefferson 
Otsego 
Chautauqua 
Suffolk I 
Monroe I 
Herkimer 
Ulster I 
Sullivan 

Wayne 

Nassau 

Clinton 


do = = = = =» COM HH WH ND 


Jefferson 


Cattaraugas 
Wayne 
Oswego I 
Saratoga 
Franklin 
Wayne 
Suffolk 
Westchester 
Schoharie 
Cayuga 
Oswego 
Suffolk 
Chemung 

St. Lawrence 
Onondaga 
Tompkins 
Wayne 
Suffolk 
Chenango 
Suffolk 


SS SS eS eS Ne ee CON SS HR Se & YD OO S&S & me 


City or Town 
South Richland 
South Syracuse 
Spencerport 
*Sterling Center 
Stony Brook 
Stony Point 
Stone Ridge 
Strykersville 
Syracuse 


Tarrytown 
Theresa 
Ticonderoga 
Tonawanda 
Trenton 

Troy 
Trumansburg 
Tuckahoe 


Unadilla Forks 
Union 
Union Springs 
Utica ° 


Victor 
Volney 
Volney Center 


Walton 
Wampsville 
Warsaw 
Warwick 
Washingtonville 
Watertown 
Waterville 
Watkins 
Waverly 
Webster 
Weedsport 
Wegatchie 
Wellsville 
Westchester 
Westfield 
Westhampton 
Westmoreland 
West New Berlin 


West New Brighton Richmond 


*Not located in the Rand and McNally International Atlas. 


The Oswego Movement in American Education 


County Number 
Oswego 
Onondaga 
Monroe 


Suffolk 
Rockland 
Ulster 
Wyoming 
Onondaga 


NSN = = = NW HY & WN 


Westchester 
Jefferson 
Essex 

Erie 

Oneida 
Rensselaer 
Tompkins 
Westchester 


=e BNO + = = ND WN 


Otsego 
Broome 
Cayuga 
Oneida 


= N NO » 


LS) 


Oswego 
Oswego 
Oswego 


a 


Delaware 
Madison 
Wyoming 
Orange 
Orange 
Jefferson 
Oneida 
Schuyler 
Tioga 
Monroe 
Cayuga 

St. Lawrence 
Allegany 
Bronx 
Chautauqua 
Suffolk 
Oneida 
Chenango 


NF WO eH Se OO FH & NY SDNY ND OD & BS & 


City or Town 
Wheeler 
White’s Corners 
Whitehall 
Whitney’s Point 
Williamstown 
Williamson 
Wolcott 
Woodville 


County 
Steuben 
Madison 
Washington 
Broome 
Oswego 
Wayne 
Wayne 
Ontario 


Appendix 


Number 


SIS = = OD & NY & 


City or Town 
Yaphank 
Yonkers 


~ York 


Youngstown 
Total 


187 

County Number 
Suffolk I 
Westchester 18 
Livingston I 
_ Niagara I 
1252 


APPENDIX XVIII 


The following people who are at present members of the faculty 
of the Oswego State Normal and Training School, were associated 
with Dr. Sheldon either as students or as teachers. Their helpful 
codperation in this study has made it possible for the author to 
assemble and interpret much original source material which other- 
wise might never have been brought to light. 


Miss C. L. G. Scales was appointed to the Oswego faculty in September, 1884 
as teacher of History, Literature, and French. She was enrolled as a special 
student at Wellesley College and later (’94—’95) at Radcliffe College. In 1906 
she was graduated from the University of Chiacgo with the degree of Ph.B. In- 
tellectual interests have kept Miss Scales an active student and her present 
physcial and mental vigor bespeak the effects of the Oswego influences. Miss 
Scales lived a year in the Sheldon home. She testifies that the associations with 
Dr. Sheldon, Mary Sheldon Barnes, and other members of the household con- 
stituted the most valuable part of her preparation for teaching. Her own words 
in writing of Dr. Sheldon and his educational work not only contribute to present 
estimates of his character but reveal the true causes of her own faithful and 
enabling service. Her own character is revealed in her appraisal of Dr. Sheldon. 

“The characteristics of the Oswego State Normal and Training School which 
were most effective in establishing it as a powerful educational influence in this 
country were those which were inherent in Dr. Sheldon and which he was in a 
measure able to incarnate in the school founded and inspired by him so long. Dr. 
Sheldon was a man who sought first the kingdom of Heaven. This was the secret 
of his greatness and of his success. 

His characteristics, as I was privileged to know them in his daily life in his 
home and in his school, were a fearless and undeviating desire for the truth; un- 
selfish devotion to the right thing, as he saw it; and unswerving endeavor to make 
his school—and all schools—places where the children would grow and develop 
naturally and wholesomely in mental, moral, and physical health. His defini- 
tion of the aim of education was—‘‘To know God’s law and to obey it!”’ 

Another characteristic was his true humility. In his teachableness his soul 
was as the soul of a little child. So he was always ready to learn a more excellent 
way. Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven—as we read. But his judgment was 
the judgment of an experienced soul, knowing good and evil In, I think, the last 
summer of his life, in spite of the devastating heat of that year, Dr. Sheldon spent 
several weeks attending a summer school in Chicago to study the then widely 
acclaimed Spear method of teaching mathematics with a view to introducing 
it in Oswego, if itseemed best. But his verdict was against it, though the 
educational world was enthusiastic in regard to it. 

And so, largely because of this same teachableness, this open-mindedness, 
he was always in the forefront of educational progress. Prove all things, hold 
fast that which is good, might have been his motto . . . Dr. Sheldon 
was a great soul rather than a great intellect, the intellect being a smaller thing 


A ppendix 189 


as the part is smaller than the whole. He became a teacher because he loved 
humanity rather than because he loved pedagogy. 

When he was thrust into the schoolroom he wanted to give the little ones 
something better than he had had in the dry-as-dust schoolroom. i 
giving the children the real things getting away from ‘‘words, words, wore 
he led them out into a happier world of flowers, fruits, birds, insects, ed 
sounds, colors—where they had to ‘observe, compare, infer’ for themselves 

Dr. Richard K. Piez was appointed to the faculty in 1893 as teacher of Manual 
Training and kindred subjects. His work soon shifted to the fields of Psychology 
and the History of Educational Methods where his interests are still active and 
vigorous. Dr. Piez received the degree of Doctor of Pedagogy from New York 
University. His extensive readings and special study at the University of Jena 
together with his appreciation of Dr. Sheldon’s work fit him in an admirable way 
for his chosen field of professional activity. 

Miss Mary L. O’Geran was appointed to the Oswego faculty in 1894. She 
was graduated from Oswego in 1885. She began her long career of usefulness 
in the Oswego school as assistant to the principal of the intermediate elementary 
grades and she is now devoting her skill and knowledge to the field of Industrial 
Arts. 

Miss Caroline V. Sinnamon was graduated from two curricula of the Oswego 
school, 1888 and 1893, and was appointed as demonstration teacher in 1895. 
She has had wide experience as a teacher, excellent opportunities for special study, 
and has traveled abroad. Miss Sinnamon is now principal of the grammar grades 
and instructor and supervisor of English. Her work, as do the others, reflects 
the impression of the high character of Edward Austin Sheldon. 

Miss Harriet E. Stevens, a graduate of the class of 1872, was appointed to the 
Oswego Normal School faculty in March 1897 as principal of the primary depart- 
ment, a position which she occupies today with great credit to herself, the school, 
and the Oswego spirit. Her professional life has been interspersed with special 
study in Columbia University and in New York University, with foreign travel, 
and with wide reading. 

Miss Katherine A. Hayes of the class of 1897 was appointed that same year 
by Dr. Sheldon, a few days before his death, as assistant to the principal of the 
intermediate department and as supervisor of drawing. Since then her interests 
have lead her into the field of mathematics. She holds a degree from Teachers 
College, Columbia University, and is head of the department of mathematics 
at Oswego. 

Mr. Joseph C. Park was appointed by Dr. Poucher in 1902. He was graduated 
from the Oswego Normal School in 1895, has studied in Cornell University, and 
holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University. Mr. Park is the author of 
several text books in the field of vocational education and is head of the depart- 
ment for the preparation of vocational teachers, one of the largest of its kind in 
the State. 

Miss Sarah C. Olmsted, a member of the class of 1897, was appointed in 1921 
as director of the department of health education. Miss Olmsted is a registered 
nurse and holds a degree of Bachelor of Science from Columbia University. Her 
memory of Dr. Sheldon confirms testimony previously mentioned. 


VITA 


Author's name: NED HARLAND DEARBORN 
Place of birth: Conneautville, Pennsylvania 
Date of birth: June 2, 1893 


Education: 


1908. 
IQIO. 


I9I2. 


1921. 
1924. 


1925. 


Experience: 


Completed the work of the elementary school in the public schools 
of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. 

Graduated from the Hayfield Township High School, Meadville, 
R. F. D. No. 2, Pennsylvania. 

Graduated from the regular teachers course and from the course 
for supervisors of public school music in the Edinboro State Normal 
School, Edinboro, Pennyslvania. 

Granted B. S. degree in education by Teachers College, Columbia 
University, New York City. 

Granted A. M. degree in education by Teachers College, Columbia 
University, New York City. 

Completed advanced courses in normal school education and related 
subjects at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. 


Ig!0-I911. Teacher in a one-room rural school in Crawford County, 


Pennsylvania. 


1912-1913. Assistant-principal of the Summit Township High School 


Harmonsburg, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. 


1913-1914. Principal of the Summit Township High School and Supervising 


Principal of the Township Elementary Schools, Harmonsburg, 
Crawford County, Pennsylvania. 


1914-1918. Supervising Principal of Schools at West Springfield, Erie 


County, Pennsylvania. 


Ig18-1920. Director of Public Schools, Conneautville, Pennsylvania. 
1921-1923. Director of the Training School of the Oswego State Normal 


and Training School, Oswego, New York. 


1924-1925. Part-time assistant in the division of educational research 


of the Commonwealth Fund, New York City. 


The author has participated in city school surveys, has contributed articles 
for educational magazines, and has written a textbook for use in the professional 
preparation of teachers. 





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ESuG. 


SematvEny 


THE OSWEGO MOVEMENT IN 
AMERICAN EDUCATION 


BY 


NED HARLAND DEARBORN 


SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE 
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 


THE WBRART OF THe 
APR 1 9 1926 
BR cry OF ILLINGIS 


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SELES ro yase 


Published by 
she College, Columbia Gniversitp 
. New York City 


1925 


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